The State of Oregon has voted to invest $2 million in a new permanent facility for SafeSpace Child Advocacy Center of the Columbia Gorge. The investment is among the projects approved for funding with the passage of HB-5202 by Oregon’s House and Senate at the end of the short 2022 Legislative Session. The investment represents a big leap forward for SafeSpace’s capital campaign to create a permanent facility supporting children who are victims of abuse, neglect or maltreatment.
SafeSpace serves a five-county region: four Oregon counties, Hood River, Wasco, Gilliam and Wheeler, and Klickitat County in Washington. A non-profit founded in 2009, SafeSpace is the only agency in the Columbia Gorge coordinating the efforts of child protective staff, law enforcement, family advocates, medical experts and mental health professionals all under one roof. SafeSpace leadership began laying plans for its capital campaign in spring 2021. During a feasibility phase of the project, interviews were conducted with 20 community and philanthropic leaders, as well as elected officials. One of those interviews was with State Representative Anna Williams (District 52, Hood River), a longtime champion for child abuse prevention and support for victims of abuse.
“Representative Williams took our hopes above and beyond what we had imagined,” SafeSpace Executive Director Beatriz Lynch said.
Williams arranged a series of meetings to advocate for a permanent SafeSpace facility, earning support from former House Speaker Tina Kotek, Senate Minority Leader Tim Knopp, Joint Ways and Means Committee Co-Chair and newly elected House Speaker Dan Rayfield, as well as others. Meeting by meeting, the plan for funding SafeSpace earned strong bi-partisan support. “I am proud of my colleagues for lining up behind the SafeSpace project,” Williams said. “It’s just one of several investments showing Oregon’s strong, bi-partisan commitment to care for child abuse victims, and to work to prevent abuse before it happens. I am especially pleased Beatriz will have the support she needs to do even more great work for children and families in our Gorge communities.”
The SafeSpace capital campaign remains in a quiet phase as additional private donations will be needed to complete the project. Lynch said she hopes the permanent facility for SafeSpace will be completed within 24 to 36 months after securing property and building or renovating,
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