Birchway Niagara to take gift from Katz family and use it for pet friendly rooms, and other development
A long-time supporter of Birchway Niagara, a women's shelter in Niagara Falls, has donated $750,000 to help expand pet friendly rooms and other services for women.
Executive Director Jennifer Gauthier says Jana and Michael Katz's donation puts them at $3.8-million of the $5.5-million goal.
She says it can be very difficult for a woman to seek help, with loneliness a big factor. "So many individuals that have experienced abuse come into our shelter, and experience this incredible isolation, so they've been isolated by their partner, away from family and friends, and they come into the shelter and feel even more isolated, because they're away from their partner."
She adds the shelter does everything it can to help women escape abuse.
"We have a beautiful shelter, you can take a tour of our facility on our website, if you want to see what it looks like before you even make a call. Or we can help you plan a safe exit to a friend's home, and we have lots of outreach support."
Jana Katz says supporting Birchway is about making sure no one lives in fear.
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