YWCA breaks ground on new home for domestic violence victims

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) - The YWCA broke ground Wednesday morning on a new apartment complex for domestic violence victims.

The building, which will have 12 furnished apartments, will be called Providence Place.

“It’s very costly and expensive to start over,” said Dianna Payton, CEO of YWCA. “This will provide affordable housing, which is one of the main barriers as to why women many times stay in violent situations.”

Payton says the only options available for victims now are shelters that provide assistance for no more than 45 days. She expects construction to be finished in about a year.

“A woman will enter an apartment with everything she needs from a bed to living room furniture to linens, everything she needs to start over.”

“We want to just make sure that women have a place, a safe haven to go to. Women are important, we want the women to know who are going through these horrible circumstances, to just know that someone cares.”

The City of Baton Rouge and Louisiana Housing Corporation paid for the project, and they hope to have the complex filled as soon as possible.

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