Women and children in crisis now have a new resource to help them get back on their feet.
The Susan H. Snyder Center for Women & Children opened Mar. 13 at 1400 Professional Blvd. Evansville Rescue Mission, which operates the center — designed by L+D Architecture and constructed by Arc Construction — broke ground on Oct. 19, 2024. ERM’s “Safe & Sound” capital campaign raised $9 million to transform the former medical facility into a temporary home. Some areas, including the kitchen, still are under construction, but the facility is almost ready to accept its first residents.
“Over the course of the months ahead, we will … slowly move toward full capacity,” Tracy Gorman, CEO of ERM, said at the grand opening. “We’ll have a methodical course that will follow, so we have time to offer and refine and make sure that our processes and our best practices and procedures are exactly as they should be. After all, we’ve operated a men’s shelter for 108 years, but we’re rookies in this new space. … This place will be a warm, welcoming, safe, and secure space where life change indeed happens.”
In the works for a decade, the center is the first facility in Evansville offering programming expressly dedicated to women and children. Its opening represents a significant milestone for ERM and city officials, who point out that when women and children are in crisis, their needs are not limited to just a place to eat, sleep, and rest. Often, they require the dignity to restore their lives and create a path forward for themselves. The center’s purpose is to provide them a comfortable place as they get back on their feet.
“Today, we gather not just to celebrate the opening of the new building, but to recognize the creation of a true home; a place of safety, healing, stability, and hope for so many women and children in our community,” Mayor Stephanie Terry said at the grand opening. “Some women and children who will walk through these doors are facing the hardest battles of their life … trying to get back on their feet after a streak of bad luck or seeking a safe escape from domestic violence. No one chooses these hardships, but everyone deserves a chance to rebuild. That is what this center represents: a second chance, a fresh start, and a reminder that no one’s story is over yet.”
“By opening the center, more women and children will have a place to call home … to get assistance … to end the cycle of homelessness,” added Nancy Miller, the center’s executive director.
Once women and children walk into the center — whether referred by another local organization or otherwise — they are greeted by a colorful, inviting atmosphere. Women without children first are placed into the emergency shelter with 12 beds, where they can stay for 30 days. This gives them a chance “to get the sounds of the street out of [their] heart and out of [their] system,” says Miller. According to her research, 30 days is the time it takes for someone to feel like they are safe again after enduring such hardship.
“They have to make decisions they’re not fearful of,” says Miller, who has a background in education. She was hired two years ago after a 38-year career in education, including 10 years at Oakland City University as director of graduate studies for its School of Education.
Then, women are encouraged to move into a more permanent space — 15 downstairs rooms are reserved for women without children, and 19 upstairs rooms are held for women with children, stuffed animals included. The center has a total capacity of 125 guests. Residents share communal bathrooms and common areas. They also become involved with ERM programs — which were built by Miller through research and visits to shelters across the country —designed to reintegrate them into the workforce and a more stable living situation. Residents get 77 weeks — a year and a half — of programs designed to help them.
Women and children in the facility also have access to a fitness center, a beauty shop with stations for hair trimming and washing, a daycare center that offers children’s programming for infants, toddlers, and young children, laundry rooms with washers and dryers, and a teaching kitchen. Onsite storage spaces are stocked with hygiene products, clothes, children’s toys, and more.
Miller says that the response to the center’s opening has been overwhelming.
“I just want to almost fall to my knees and say, ‘God, thank you.’ Because it’s just so amazing that there’s so many people who care about people who are struggling … experiencing homelessness or domestic violence or addiction,” she says. “I cannot wait to see that first woman walk in and be able to help them…to get to where they need to go because they need a playing ground that’s level so that they can do what they need to do…Nothing compares to this.”
