Fair Haven rape crisis center receives $500K grant for services

Fair Haven Rape Crisis Center received a second infusion of federal cash late last month, this time to help with survivors’ needs once they’re in the program.

The center will receive $500,000 from the Transitional Housing Assistance Grants for Victims of Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking (Transitional Housing Program) courtesy of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Representative Frank J. Mrvan’s office announced November 24. Fair Haven in April 2024 received $1.8 million in local and federal money to purchase the downtown Highland building in which it’s resided for the last 20 years to add “stabilization housing,” the Post-Tribune previously reported.

The Transition Housing Program “provides transitional housing and support services to aid minors, adults, and their dependents who are in need of housing assistance as a result of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking,” according to a release Mrvan issued.  The funds will be used “to support survivors with services such as housing advocacy, rental assistance, case management, and stabilization supports, helping them find and maintain safe, long-term housing options,” Fair Haven Founder and Executive Director Kelly Vates told the Post-Tribune via email.

“Fair Haven is honored to receive this critical Transitional Housing Program award from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women,” Vates said in the release. “This investment will allow us to expand safe, stable housing and supportive services for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking in Northwest Indiana.

“Housing is more than shelter: It is the foundation of safety, dignity, and a future free from violence.  With the project close to breaking ground, we are deeply grateful to Congressman Frank Mrvan for his ongoing leadership and commitment to ensuring that survivors and their families have the resources they need to heal and thrive.”

Mrvan congratulated Fair Haven’s leaders for the award.

“Congratulations to all of the leaders of Fair Haven Rape Crisis Center for your dedicated efforts to support survivors in Northwest Indiana and for successfully securing this federal resource, Mrvan said in the release. “I will continue to do all I can to vocally advocate for resources and funding for federal programs that provide essential support to survivors of domestic and sexual violence in Northwest Indiana and throughout our nation.”

The grant cannot, however, be used for construction on the center’s Portside Suites, which the remainder of the $1.8 million is going toward. Vates said.

The architect approached Highland Building Commissioner Ken Mika over the summer with concerns about overall construction increases for the project, the Post-Tribune previously reported. Mika went through the town’s design standards with him and made suggestions about where they could substitute materials on the project, which has been approved by the Plan Commission. He told them they would need to go to the Plan Commission for any sort of site-plan change, such as building the stormwater detention chamber for the entire building as opposed to just the build-out and other issues that weren’t under the Plan Commission’s purview.

After that meeting, Mika said he got a call from State Sen. Dan Dernulc, R-Highland to ask “if there was anything he could do for (Fair Haven) in reference to advancing their project.” Dernulc then approached him a second time about the project; a letter on Fair Haven letterhead addressed to the Town Council and signed by Vates seeking the council’s approval to “do things differently” on the buildout then was delivered to Mika’s desk a week or so later, the Post-Tribune reported.

At a Plan Commission study session, the center was asked to size an underground storm water detention chamber for the entire property, which costs at least $91,000.

“Since the time of the first cost estimate until now, the build cost doubled,” Vates wrote.

Vates’ letter said it was her understanding that the Town Council has could waive engineering requirements, but Mika clarified that none of what Fair Haven asked is decided by the Town Council.

In a statement Vates issued after the initial Post-Tribune story, she said that Fair Haven wasn’t aware they’d been put on the Plan Commission’s meeting agenda but that the not-for-profit has “an obligation to our community, survivors, and funding partners to ensure that all project costs are reasonable, necessary, and aligned with federal cost principles.” Having Dernulc reach out on their behalf and the letter were extensions of that obligation, she said.