Announcing plans for New $15 Million Facility
Last week at its 27th Genesis Annual Luncheon featuring keynote speaker Nicole Kidman, Genesis announced plans for a new $15 million facility. Since its inception in 1985, Genesis Women’s Shelter has been providing safety, shelter and support for women and children who have experienced domestic violence, and raising awareness regarding its cause, prevalence and impact. The new center will further this mission by doubling the number of women and children receiving non-residential services each year from 3,700 to 7,500.
Currently, Genesis operates two locations: a safe campus including an emergency shelter and transitional housing, and a non-residential office (located off Lemmon Avenue near Oak Lawn) for advocacy, counseling and legal services. In response to rising demand for non-residential services, the new 28,600 square-foot center will establish evidence-based centers for treatment, advocacy and education, with groundbreaking expected in the spring of 2021.
The new non-residential space will be twice the size of the current Lemmon Avenue office and allow for a 65 percent increase in staff, significantly lowering the current waiting list for services in Dallas. The facility will add four pillars of excellence to the Genesis continuum of care, including the Children’s Trauma Counseling Center, Legal Justice Center & Family Law Library, Tech Command Center and the Genesis Institute for Training & Education. Located off Harry Hines Boulevard in the Medical District, the location will provide easy access to the DART Rail, removing the barrier that lack of transportation can sometimes create for women seeking help.
“One in three women in the state of Texas will experience domestic violence,” said Jan Langbein, CEO of Genesis Women’s Shelter & Support. “The vast majority of abused women will not seek emergency shelter, but instead rely on non-residential services, counseling, advocacy and legal services. The new building will allow us to expand upon these services so that we can break the generational cycle of abuse for thousands of women and children each year.”
Genesis has raised more than 80% in philanthropic support to-date, including donations from the David B. Miller Family Foundation, The Rees-Jones Foundation, Nancy Best, and a challenge grant from the J.E. & L.E. Mabee Foundation.
“The new facility will be an incredible physical transformation, but even more importantly, it will directly transform the life of each and every woman who walks through the doors,” said Nancy Best, Board Chair of Shelter Ministries of Dallas. “Whether a woman is just starting to question if her relationship is abusive or a woman is seeking a wrap-around continuum of care, we’ll stand by with open doors, hearts and arms.”
The building is expected to open in the spring of 2022. To make a gift to the capital campaign and join us in our mission to end domestic violence, visit www.genesisshelter.org/capitalcampaign.