A $3.5 million grant from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust will help Mitchell's Abbott House build an addition, refurbish its existing space and hire 10 new employees.
The grant was announced Tuesday, along with other grants from the Helmsley Trust. Abbott House Executive Director Eric Klooz called the grant "the biggest event that's ever happened to Abbott House."
"It should allow us to be the best possible place for adolescent girls in the region, I would say," Klooz said. "That's our goal."
Abbott House is a private charity that provides treatment and foster care to girls ages 9 through 17. It was founded in 1939 as a memorial to social activist Grace Abbott and is located in the former Eugene Field Elementary School at 909 Court Merrill.
Much of the grant money will be applied to the construction of a nearly 9,000-squarefoot addition on the south side of the existing facility. The living quarters for Abbott House clients will be moved into the addition, and the existing structure will be remodeled to house office space, a wellness center and a kitchen and laundry area, where independent living skills will be taught.
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The new addition will allow Abbott House to switch from group living quarters to individual rooms. The addition also will contain two family living units, so that visiting family members can stay on-site instead of in a hotel. Construction is expected to begin this summer with anticipated completion in nine to 18 months.
The grant also will fund the cost of 10 new full-time employees for three years. They include a psychologist, nurse, special education director, program auditor and direct-care staff.
After the new workers are hired, Abbott House will have 79 employees and a payroll in excess of $2 million. The facility, which is staffed 24 hours per day, serves about 44 girls at any given time -- 38 in its main facility and six at a nearby therapeutic foster home. About 100 girls are served annually.
The number of clients will remain the same after the addition and the hiring of the extra employees. Klooz said the upgrades are necessary to serve the increasingly troubled nature of girls referred to Abbott House.
"The girls that are being referred today have been through more abuse, more trauma than in the past," Klooz said.
If all aspects of the grantrelated projects are implemented successfully, Klooz said, there could be opportunities for further assistance from the Helmsley Trust in the future.
Meanwhile, Abbott House has undertaken its own $7.8 million fundraising campaign -- of which the $3.5 million grant is a part -- to cover furnishings, equipment and ongoing costs associated with the new projects.
