Eastern Shore Coalition Against Domestic Violence purchases site to create new campus

The Eastern Shore Coalition Against Domestic Violence (ESCADV) has purchased the former G.F. Horne facility on Hartman Street in Onancock. ESCADV will create a campus to house the Coalition’s shelter for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, as well as administrative and advocate offices, donation storage and spaces that can be used for education, support groups and community outreach. The site totals five acres and houses three buildings.

The purchase was made possible thanks to a donation from David Landsberger.

“We can’t thank David Landsberger enough for his generosity,” said Shelley Strain, ESCADV’s Executive Director. “We’re starting a whole new chapter in ESCADV’s history, and it wouldn’t have been possible without him.”

ESCADV plans to first renovate the building that will serve as the shelter for survivors. This new space will allow clients to have private rooms with attached bathrooms, rather than a communal-style shelter.

The new shelter will have a shared kitchen, laundry room and rec room, as well as a space for support groups, a vegetable garden and a fenced yard with a playground where children staying in the facility can play.

COVID made it clear that the Coalition needed a new way to house clients. During the pandemic the current shelter, which is a duplex, could only house two families at a time. Over the last year and a half ESCADV has had to lean more heavily on hotel rooms to house survivors. In fiscal year ‘21, ESCADV spent over $120,000 on lodging and relocation expenses for clients. As more people began to travel, it became difficult to even find enough hotel rooms for clients. The new shelter will be able to accommodate at least 25 clients, with room for expansion as needed.

Once the shelter is completed, the Coalition will focus on renovating a second building, which will house both administrative and advocacy offices. Currently, Coalition staff are spread across two buildings. Advocates are primarily located at 130 Market Street, while administrative staff and a sexual assault advocate are located at 155 Market Street. This new space will bring the entire staff under one roof.

The new office building will also house a room where a SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner) nurse can perform Physical Evidence Recovery Kits, also known as PERK tests, for survivors of sexual assault. Having

this room available for survivors will provide them more privacy by preventing them from having to make a hospital visit.

The second building will also provide space to store donations. ESCADV currently utilizes several sheds and a storage unit.

“The community is extremely generous with us,” said Volunteer Coordinator Jon Bulin. “But our space is limited at the moment and it can make managing donations difficult. The new campus will give us more space to organize household goods, clothes and personal care items so clients can easily grab what they need.”

A third building on the property doesn’t yet have a specified use. It may host events, serve as classrooms where the coalition can provide education to the public or it could provide space where additional support groups could be offered. It could also serve as an overflow space for the shelter.

“If we get to a point where we need to provide more beds for clients we can,” said Peaches Dodge, ES-CADV’s Board President. “It’s partially fun not to know what we’ll do with that building yet and almost hav-ing it evolve and having community needs dictate what it will be. I think of it as a space we can grow into and mature into as an organization.”

ESCADV plans to sell both 155 Market Street and the current shelter to fund the completion of the new cam-pus, as well as seeking grant funding and local dollars from Accomack and Northampton County and local towns. However, additional community support will be necessary for the project.

To donate to the capital campaign, businesses and community members can mail checks to P.O. Box 3 Onancock, VA 23417 or drop them off at the ESCADV administrative office at 155 Market Street. To donate online visit http://weblink.donorperfect.com/capital-campaign

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