The Circle of Hope has much to celebrate as it grows and expands with its new administrative office and outreach center at 120 Trinity Drive in Demorest, GA. The Habersham County Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the completed building from 5:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
The new administrative office serves as an outreach center. Suzanne Dow, Executive Director for the Circle of Hope, explained, “Having the outreach center allows victims immediate access to protective orders, crisis intervention, and counseling and those types of things without having to live at the shelter which stays full. If we can help in that capacity, that is what we want to do.”
Senator Bo Hatchett spoke at the event, applauding Dow for her years of service to the Circle of Hope and her vision to continue to help those who find themselves in situations of domestic violence. Representative Victor Anderson expressed his appreciation for the organization and all that they do to solve the crisis of domestic violence.
“It is such a warm and welcome feeling to come into this building for those people who are at the lowest point in their lives,” Anderson said. “Senator Hatchet and I will continue to work hard to assure funding through the state to provide assistance and support.”
A security fence will be installed behind the building with controlled access. This ensures the safety of those who work there as well as those who are seeking assistance. The entire building is secured with limited access by anyone other than those who work there.
Dow talked about the reasons which led up to building the new space. “The Board of Directors felt The Circle of Hope needed a more public face in the community because the shelter had always been hidden for safety reasons. People didn’t know how to access services.”
The decision was made in 2012 and the Circle of Hope rented a space in Cornelia across from CVS. In 2020 they acquired a second office space due to program growth. The Board completed a cost analysis and determined it was more economical to build and own a space.
“It is a big leap of faith financially and I thank our Board for believing in us,” Dow added.
She also expressed her sincere gratitude to Carol Lovell. “None of this would have been possible without her generosity. Not only did she ensure the cost was affordable and attainable for us as a non-profit but she also secured donations from construction vendors to reduce our costs further.”
Dow thanked all those who were involved in the completion of this project. “We’d also like to thank all the businesses, vendors, and individuals who donated or significantly reduced their services for this project.”
The Circle of Hope is a local domestic violence organization serving primarily Habersham, Stephens, and White County. The organization works with those experiencing intimate personal violence. Services are offered and available 24/7 365 days a year through the Crisis Hotline at 706-776-4673, by Text Messaging at 706-776-1616, or through Chat Messaging at gacircleofhope.org.
