WomanHaven gets new vehicle to continue outreach efforts
As it continues to step up its efforts to reach out to more people in the community, WomanHaven Center for Family Solutions on Friday acquired a new vehicle that will allow it to do just that.
The organization purchased a new Nissan Rogue from Rogers & Rogers Nissan who offered them a significant discount, to make the most of the funds WomanHaven obtained from the county last summer.
Last year, WomanHaven submitted an application to receive funds from the county’s Community Benefit Program which collects fees from utility-scale solar projects deployed in the county to be invested in community and social-based programs. In June, the Board of Supervisors approved their $81,000 request to fund additional outreach, prevention and intervention treatment, an additional program coordinator, and a new vehicle.
“What we were in need of was to be able to take our services to all corners and rural areas of Imperial County for our outreach efforts and to bring awareness as to what our services are,” said WomanHaven Executive Director Gina Vargas. “We needed a vehicle that would be safe and affordable for us to travel to those areas of the county. We hope it will allow us to reach over 1,500 people over the next year.”
WomanHaven offers a variety of support services to women who are victims of domestic violence. Every year it receives more than 240 women in their emergency shelter and an additional 1,500 women receive assistance in its center for various services.
“WomanHaven plays a vital role in dealing with people in desperate need, often women who’ve been abused and have nowhere to go,” said the chairman of the Imperial County Board of Supervisors, Michael Kelley. “They do a tremendous job in Imperial County and I’m glad they had the opportunity to benefit from the community benefit funds to meet their transportation needs.”
Terri Rogers, who owns Rogers & Rogers Nissan along with her husband Les Rogers, said she met Vargas a few years ago at a WomanHaven event and kept in touch. She said when Vargas reached out to her when she began looking for a new vehicle for the organization; she immediately felt they had to work with WomanHaven to get a reliable car at a good price.
“When she called me, I told my husband ‘this is something we need to do’ he has a big heart just the way I do, we felt privileged to be able to do this for them and help them out with the vehicle so they can transport their clients,” Rogers said. “I want to congratulate WomanHaven for the beautiful job that they do for this community and wish much more success to them.”
Vargas said that the new vehicle is a big asset for them as their other vehicles have already aged and might not be reliable in helping them reach out to the communities throughout the county.
“With this vehicle, we’re going to be able to reach those who can’t come into our walk-in center, but be able to take our services out to them,” Vargas said. “We are hopeful with this to bring awareness and hopefully prevent domestic violence in homes in our community.”