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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nBRASS serves the 10-county Barron River Area Development District comprising Allen, Barren, Butler, Edmonson, Hart, Logan, Metcalfe, Monroe, Simpson, and Warren counties. The shelter has 31 beds at its primary location, plus they maintain 5-6 rooms in an alternate area to keep up with the mounting needs. Last year, BRASS answered 3,800 crisis calls, provided a listening ear, and connected victims to life-altering resources. Each year, they provide emergency shelter to over 400 clients and sustain about 80 households every\u00a0month in rental assistance. With a 99% capacity rate at the shelter, they may have 0-1 beds available each night but receive 10 requests. Henninger said, \u201cWe are gearing up for a capital campaign to expand shelter by building a new facility. Once we\u2019re ready to go, we will need everyone who can support us to do so. It\u2019s a big project!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BRASS has several initiatives to raise funds and awareness and to collaborate with others in the community. In February, they will partner with Kroger in Shop and Share, a fundraiser where advocates collect non-perishables to stock the food pantry. In July, Fruit of the Loom will hold a drive to collect back-to-school items for children living in their shelters. During Domestic Violence Month in October, they will sponsor several activities to increase awareness. In December, they will host their annual Hope for the Holidays, a program where community members adopt a child for Christmas. \u201cBowling Green is rich with community partners, government officials, and citizens who will extend help, services, and support at any time,\u201d said Mace. \u201cIt means so much to our survivors to know that they have the support of their community behind them. As an agency, we are humbled each day by the generosity that our neighbors show. Together, we show up to believe, support, and empower survivors every day, and we could not do this work alone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Henninger said apparent signs of abuse aren\u2019t always physical and don\u2019t always leave visible marks. \u201cThere are other types of abuse, including emotional, psychological, sexual assault, and financial abuse. Domestic violence is rooted in power and control, where the abusive partner wields power and control over their partner. As a community member, the best thing to look for is unexplained changes in behavior from the person you\u2019re concerned about. Are they showing signs of isolation, withdrawing from family, friends, or coworkers, or experiencing mood changes? It\u2019s so important for people to trust their gut. If you think something is going on, it probably is.\u201d GN<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" FRED ROGERS once said, \u201cIn times of disaster, I remembered my mother\u2019s words to \u2018look for the helpers\u2019 in every situation and was comforted.\u201d The Barren River Area Safe Space (BRASS Inc.) has been a \u201chelper\u201d since 1980. \u201cCitizens formed a committee to address an unmet need affecting our community \u2014 to support victims fleeing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":21127,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n