Crossroads Safehouse

Description

Early in the spring of 1977, Ruth Edwards from the district attorney's office and Linda Miller from Larimer County Mental Health (LCMH) met to discuss their frustration with the lack of services for battered women in Larimer County.They decided a task force would be necessary to address the problem.

They set up a meeting of representatives from different human service agencies with the goal of providing more inter-agency coordination and continuity of service provisions to battered women. The task force began by printing a card for police officers to hand to battered women advertising the group. Posters and radio campaigns also brought women to the group.

It was recognized early on that the primary need of battered women was a refuge for themselves and their children; a place where they could stay long enough to begin breaking the cycle of battering and start making some significant changes in their lives.

Now, more than twenty years after the conception of Crossroads, we are able to offer a variety of services to the surrounding community. These services include:

• Safe Housing for battered women and their children
• Community education
• 24-hour crisis line
• Individual and group counseling
• Youth program
• Legal Advocacy
• DART (Domestic Abuse Response Team)
• Spanish Outreach Program
• Rapid Rehousing Program