Lewiston State Bank commits $6,000 to CAPSA

On Tuesday, January 30, 2018, Lewiston State Bank announced its commitment to sponsor a home in Citizens Against Physical and Sexual Abuse’s Independence Neighborhood.

The neighborhood consists of nine homes, and serves as transitional housing for clients leaving emergency shelter. Residents can stay for up to two years and they pay rent on a sliding scale, based on family size and income levels.

“When your life’s been seemingly shattered, it takes a while to put it back together,” Jill Anderson, CAPSA’s executive director said. “Independence Place provides individuals with both the time and physical space to heal and progress beyond abuse.”

Lewiston State Bank’s donation of $6,000 will provide a year of housing assistance for a family in need, specifically a low-or moderate-income family.

“Schreiber’s, Wasatch Properties, Sports Academy, Riverwoods, and Conservice helped us build the homes in 2015,” said James Boyd, CAPSA’s development director. “But continued funding is needed to assist families living in the neighborhood today. I hope Lewiston State Bank is the first of many organizations to donate and sponsor a home for a family in need.”

Dale Buxton, president of Lewiston State Bank said he chose to sponsor a home for CAPSA because he knows how important it is for individuals to have a loving, happy place to come home to.

“We spend -many hours helping first-time home buyers finance their dream house,” Buxton said. “We see the joy and anticipation in their eyes. We see their hope for a future. We’ve seen how having a place to call yours impacts people. For that reason, we wanted to make transitional housing affordable for CAPSA clients.”

Boyd said there’s no way to fully express the magnitude of the bank’s gift.

“You can’t put a price on safety or security,” Boyd said.

Learn how you can sponsor a home for CAPSA clients by contacting James Boyd at james@capsa.org or (435) 753-2500.

Learn more about mortgages from Lewiston State Bank by contacting the Lewiston State Bank mortgage department at 435-753-1800.

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CAPSA receives $750,000 grant from U.S. Department of Justice

Citizens Against Physical and Sexual Abuse, in conjunction with Fast Forward Charter High School and the Cache Youth Resource Center, has received a $750,000 grant from the United States Justice Department.

The grant came from the Office of Violence Against Women, and its goal is to train youth, particularly boys and men, to become leaders in the community, and be engaged in violence prevention.

To that end, CAPSA has hired a full-time clinical therapist whose office will be located in Fast Forward, and whose time will be devoted to the teens there.

This new therapist, Alicia Stettler, said she’s excited to begin working with the youth.

“I love that CAPSA looks at everything so holistically,” Stettler said. “They look at the children, the adults and the youth, to see how they interact with each other. I’m very excited to get to know the students and help all of their interactions improve.”

CAPSA also hired a full-time prevention educator, Bethany Balady, whose role will be to teach those attending Fast Forward about healthy relationships, personal boundaries, consent, how to prevent bullying and other strategies to assist youth in dealing with their emotions and challenges.

Fast Forward will also be adding staff to support the engagement of students within violence prevention, and to support families who are currently struggling with abuse.

Jill Lowe, the Principle of Fast Forward, said she’s excited to have these professionals and the resources they bring within the school.

“Many of our students do not have access to the resources they need to be successful,” Lowe said. “With the help of this grant, we will be bringing the resources to them and their families.”

Fast Forward’s mission is to serve students who are at-risk of not completing degree requirements and challenge them in healthy ways. Lowe believes the training students will receive will challenge them in positive, non-academic ways.

“These students are remarkable,” Lowe said. “However, similar to any other school in our valley, many have experienced trauma. If these students can gain social skills which help them interact with others and express themselves in healthy ways, as well as learning healthy coping mechanisms, that will drastically improve their lives right now and in the future.”

Jill Anderson, executive director of CAPSA, is looking forward to partnering with Fast Forward, and she’s very grateful to the Department of Justice for their support with this grant.

“We were one of only fifteen organizations to receive this grant,” Anderson said. “Other recipients were based in New York City, Cleveland and Seattle. I’m grateful the Office of Violence Against Women saw that our need in Logan, Utah is of equal importance to that of these bigger cities. Regardless of population size, we all want to do the same thing, and that’s to change and save the lives of our youth.”

CAPSA has previously received grants from the Department of Justice, and in Fiscal Year 2017, grants equated to 70% of CAPSA’s overall funding.

“We can’t do what we do without the support of the community,” Anderson said. “But we also can’t do what we do without the support of larger, national organizations who have dedicated their time and money to helping end abuse and violence.”

Learn more about CAPSA at capsa.org. Learn more about Fast Forward Charter High School at ffchs.org.

Contacts: Katie Stringham, Development Support Coordinator, Katie@capsa.org, 435-753-2500

Jill Anderson, CAPSA Executive Director, Jill@capsa.org, 435-753-2500

Jill Lowe, Fast Forward Principle, Jill@ffchs.org, 435-713-4255

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CAPSA expands into Rich County

Citizens Against Physical and Sexual Abuse is recognized by state and federal authorities as the domestic violence, sexual assault and rape recovery center for Rich County. However, due to limited resources, prior to 2017, this meant citizens of Rich County had to travel to Logan for services.

The distance between Rich County and CAPSA’s emergency shelter is greater than 70 miles, and it takes more than an hour and a half to drive to.

Knowing this, CAPSA Executive Director, Jill Anderson decided to expand services to Rich County.

“It takes a tremendous amount of courage to leave an abusive relationship,” Anderson said. “I don’t want people hesitating to leave because shelter is too far away.”

CAPSA began its expansion into the county by educating middle and high school students on healthy relationships and how to prevent bullying.

“Education plays a huge role in ending abuse,” CAPSA’s Prevention Education Coordinator, Shellie Lusk said. “Many teenagers don’t know how to react to violence because no one’s ever taught them what to do when they see it or who to talk to.”

In addition to educating students, CAPSA has assigned a full-time caseworker, Allie Leezer, to Rich County.

To date, Leezer has assisted two individuals with protective orders and finding safe housing. She hopes to assist more residents as they become increasingly familiar with CAPSA and its mission.

“Sometimes it’s scary when you have to contact a caseworker,” Leezer said. “No one ever wants to make that phone call, but I hope the community can begin to see how we are aiding families in need, and we’re helping people live lives free of abuse and fear.”

If you or a loved one has experienced domestic abuse or sexual assault, call CAPSA at (435) 753-2500. If you are in immediate danger, call 911.

CAPSA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to ending abuse. It provides free confidential therapy and shelter services to those in need, and it has a 24-hour hotline where individuals experiencing domestic violence or sexual assault can call to receive services.

Contacts:

Katie Stringham, Development Support Coordinator, katie@capsa.org, 435-753-2500

Allie Leezer, Rural/Rich Caseworker, allie@capsa.org, 435-753-2500

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