Safe House reports local decline in hotline calls, surge in hotel placements during pandemic

As "stay-at-home" orders went into effect nationwide, the Safe House for Women never turned anyone away. However, executive director Jessica Hill did not hesitate to admit the effort has been a financial struggle.

Police data from a six-week period beginning March 22 shows both Jackson and Cape Girardeau police responded to about twice as many domestic-violence calls as they did during the same time period in 2019.

Hill said the local domestic-violence shelter experienced a decline in monthly hotline calls as the stay-at-home orders continued, and noted more severe situations of domestic abuse experienced by clients and callers.

Hill also said the decline in frequency of hotline calls may be due to early warning signs of abuse going unreported until they have escalated to more "severe" or "threatening" situations.

The pandemic protocols set in place also forced Safe House to temporarily halt admissions to its shelter in mid-March and required it to instead begin placing people in alternative shelters.

Hill said the normal cost to provide shelter at Safe House's regular facility is about $40 per day, and "bed nights" -- placing people in alternative shelters or hotels -- can cost double that amount or more.

To complicate matters further, the agency lost about one-third of its regular revenue from its thrift store, which remained closed from mid-March to May 11.

In February, Hill said everyone who needed shelter was able to be admitted to the Safe House facility without needing to place anyone in alternative shelters.

By the end of March, Safe House used a total of 23 beds in alternative shelters or hotel placements, or bed nights, to provide shelter to its clients.

In April, the agency required 145 bed nights to shelter everyone in need. Hill said the cost of providing alternative shelters for the month of April alone cost about $13,000.

All the while, the number of people sheltered at the facility's regular shelter remained steady with about 40 people served.

"The people in our community who needed to get away from the dangerous situation they were in were able to turn to us," Hill said, "and we were able to provide them with help."

The executive director suggested community members check in on people who may be at-risk of domestic abuses, and encouraged those people to say something if they see something.

Although the statewide social distancing regulations have gradually loosened, the agency still requires the use of some alternative shelters.

Hill said those wishing to support Safe House can participate in Semo Media's ongoing canned-food drive benefiting the domestic-violence agency or bring canned food to Safe House's outreach office.

The shelter is also in need of cleaning supplies, and Hill said financial support is always welcome.