Panel OKs women's shelter

FINDLAY — Plans for an emergency shelter for women and children — Martha's House — at 1918 N. Main St., were approved by Findlay City Planning Commission on Thursday. Findlay City Mission, which has had overflow at its West Main Cross Street site, recently acquired the property from Family Resource Center. It is renovating nine rooms on the first floor as bedrooms for nine women who have children. The second floor will be renovated to accommodate an on-site staff member and nine additional rooms. Martha's House will open in late summer or early fall. City Mission has housed women with children for almost 50 years at its West Main Cross Street building, and other facilities prior to that, Executive Director Kathryn Bausman said. But the need has increased drastically. "Currently we have five family rooms and we will be adding an additional four family rooms, opening up nine family rooms when we open the new Martha's House, with room to grow in the future if necessary," she said. All of the rooms at City Mission's Main Cross Street building are full and have been for the entire year, she said. There also are typically three to five women with children on the waiting list. Martha's House will have a large family area where families can enjoy movies, puzzles, games and spend time together, she said. There will also be a large children's play area where the mothers can supervise their children. It's also a place where children can be supervised by staff or volunteers when their mom has appointments on the property with other agencies, Bausman said. "We're not a daycare. We cannot have the women leave the property," she said. "But we're going to be partnering with several other agencies offering office space so that they can have assistance right there on the property without having to take their children all over town to get the services they need or to sign up for the services they need, including counseling." In addition, there will be a dining room where they can sit as a family and eat, and a kitchenette area. Food will be brought in, already cooked by City Mission, to be served family-style. Each of the nine family rooms will have its own bathroom, but that doesn't include a shower, she said. There will also be three shower rooms and a laundry facility with commercial-grade washing machines and dryers on the first level. An outside play area will have a basketball hoop and place for children to ride their bikes and tricycles, while another area will be grass, Bausman said. The Findlay-Hancock County Community Foundation has awarded $350,000 for improvements to the Martha's House building.