MERIDIAN, Idaho — Pinwheels plot a path to the new Faces of Hope location in Meridian, which began providing services to victims of abuse in late January.
The Faces of Hope Foundation previously provided services at a center in downtown Boise. In January, they were evicted from building - which now operates as the Ada County Victim Services Center.
Even with a different location, Faces of Hope is still seeing the same high demand for its services, not just across the county, but across the region.
"People are finding us," Faces of Hope Executive Director Paige Dinger said.
Dinger said the idea to expand the Faces footprint across Ada County has been in the works for years.
"We were looking at our numbers of the people that were coming to Faces for help, and we found that half of our clients were coming from West Ada, but they were coming one, two, maybe three times," Dinger said. "Whereas our clients from the Boise area were coming 6, 7, 8 times to receive our full services. So three years ago, the board said, 'We've got to do something about this. We've got to make sure that we meet the needs of all of our clients, no matter where they live.'"
Just as they did while in downtown Boise, Faces of Hope provides resources and wraparound services for victims of domestic violence and other forms of abuse by offering immediate help.
Some services offered by Faces of Hope include:
- Advocates meeting victims to help determine what services the client needs.
- Emergency services such as housing, clothing, new prescription glasses, lock changes, unmonitored cell phones, transportation and food.
- Counselors meeting with clients.
- Attorney services addressing clients' legal needs, such as family law issues, child custody and civil protection orders.
- Case managers helping victims become self-reliant.
- Hope's Closet and a diaper bank.
"We're not billing insurance. We're not billing anybody for any of the services," Dinger said. "We're actually covering the divorce fees, covering court fees. We want to make sure that there are no barriers. "
No barriers for the services because abuse knows no bounds.
"It's not just Meridian, Eagle, Star, Kuna, Boise. We've seen people come from Oregon, Mountain Home, Burley," Dinger said. "One in three women and one in four men will deal with some type of abuse in their lifetime, so it affects all of us."
Dinger said the foundation is looking at opening up a new location in downtown Boise soon.
Faces of Hope's Meridian location is at 1850 S. Eagle Road, Suite 100. Victims can call (208) 986-4357 for assistance.
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