Womanspace Celebrates New Home in Lawrence Twp.

Editor's Note: The following is a news release issued on behalf of Womanspace.

KSS Architects LLP, community leaders and friends of Womanspace Inc. celebrated the opening of Womanspace’s new home on Brunswick Avenue in Lawrence Township with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house on Wednesday, Feb. 29.

Made possible through a generous leadership gift and the in-kind services of KSS Architects LLP, Womanspace’s new home combines its Administrative Office and Counseling and Support Program under one roof – giving the organization an inviting public face along with adequate space for the expansion of counseling services, including the introduction of children’s services for the first time in Mercer County to address the issues related to children’s witnessing domestic violence.

“In one word we’re thrilled,” said Patricia Hart, Womanspace executive director. “When we first saw this building we saw the potential, but never thought it would be as beautiful as it is today. Even more importantly our new shared space enables us to do more work, more effectively and efficiently. We have doubled our counseling space and can now serve children in a meaningful way. This building is magnificent. It fulfills all our dreams and hopes for what we’d be able to do.”

"Working with a client dedicated to such a great cause and with such involvement to the surrounding community was a great honor,” added Kyle Rendall, project architect at KSS. “Those involved in the design and construction of the project united to provide a high-quality facility on a rational budget, with a common belief in the organization, its people and those whom they assist on a daily basis. Anyone who has worked with Womanspace knows that 'It starts here,' and hopefully their new facility becomes that new beginning for many to come."

Previously split between two different facilities, Womanspace’s new home creates a bright, airy workplace that houses the nonprofit organization’s administration and the coordinators of its Domestic Violence Victim Response Team and Sexual Assault Services, Education & Training, Outreach and Counseling.

The move was inspired by the generosity of Sandy Goodfriend, a survivor of domestic violence who after coming to Womanspace for help became a domestic violence educator and volunteers to help other victims. She donated a large portion of an inheritance toward the improvement of the Womanspace facilities for counseling in honor of her parents. The new Barbara & Herb Goodfriend Counseling Center is just one way Womanspace’s new home is helping the organization do more. 

In November, Womanspace became the first agency in Mercer County to provide direct therapeutic care to youth coping with family violence through its Chrildren’s Services Program. “A child that grows up in a house where domestic abuse exists will think it is normal and will go out into the world believing that it is normal unless we intervene,” Goodfriend said in Womanspace’s Winter 2012 newsletter. “That is what Womanspace and other domestic abuse organizations are all about. That is why counseling is so important.”

The total cost for the new facility is $1.5 million and Womanspace has launched a new campaign titled “The Campaign for the Children” to help raise an additional $500,000 toward supporting the children's program, to strengthen it and to secure its continuation into the future.

For more information on how to contribute to the campaign, contact: Susan D. Klejst, director of development, at (609) 394-0136 or sdk@womanspace.org.