02-22-1995 Planning Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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DRAFT MINUTES OF THE ORONO PLAP^^’ING COXLMISSION WORK SESSION ON DOMESTIC ABUSE SHELTERS HELD ON JANTJARY 20, 1995 whether staiT had talked to Mound regarding their experience with the proposed shelter. Mabusth indicated she had talked to the zoning staff, who confirmed that opposition did not appear until the application reached the Council level of review. This led to approval delays which conflicted with the property owners’ schedule, the building ended up being demolished, and there was less support for continuing with the process of the zoning of the site for a shelter when there was no existing building. Schroeder questioned how the service area would change with a building in the proposed location. Mabusth showed an overhead indicating Westonka ’s service area is generally the nonhwest quadrant of Lake Minnetonka but would expand to include most of the Lake Minnetonka area cities. Schroeder asked if Westonka had its choice, where would it place a shelter to serve its conununity. Webber indicated that centrality is not as critical as access and other site specific characteristics. Affordability is also a large factor. Peterson asked whether high visibility is expected to bring in walk-in traffic without police referrals. Webber indicated affirmatively, noting that is a benefit of this visible site. She further noted that cne of the jobs of volunteer or paid advocates is to assist victims in determining whether or not they wish to involve the police and the legal system. Peterson questioned whether the low estimate of need indicated by police reports is actually an indicator of an unmet need for a shelter. Sichender noted that statistically in an affluent family where the husband has a high income the woman has more to lose, such as her life style, custody of children, etc. and therefore affluent victims tend to stay in a bad situation. Such victims are potential users of the shelter on a walk-in basis. Peterson suggested that the stigma of involving the police, which raises a red flag in the neighborhood, may be a reason for the historically low number of refeiTvils to shehers via our police department. Sichender reiterated that 60% of the requests for shelter at Home Free and Sojourner are turned away due to lack of space, and in essence are operating at 100% occupancy with no ability to serve ihe total need. Mabusth and Webber both agreed wiUi Sichender’s assessment. Lindquist questioned whether there are any statirtics indicating the numbers of walk-ins versus referrals. Webber indicated she could provide that information but did not have it with her. Peterson suggested that while his gut feeling is that while Orono is an affluent communit)’ it likely has the same problems as other communities, yet the statistics presented don’t seem to suggest a great need. He noted that the police department’s recent analysis indicates of 38 abusers Jailed, only 1 victim was referred to a shelter, 2 went to stay with friends, 1 went to a hospital, and this Is from a total of 160 domestic abuse calls over a two year period. Sichender replied that it is hard to determine how much a facility might be used when it currently isn’t there. Mabusth noted that in the 38 cases where the abuser went to jail, that action made it safe for the victim to stay at home as was suggested by Lt. Cheswick at the last meeting. Berg suggested that when the abuser is released or later if the abuse continues, the lack of a shelter option becomes more obvious. Mabusth commented that it was initially clear that statistics would not identify a need specifically for Orono, and that the need for a shelter would have to be reviewed in terms of its