Property acquired for domestic violence shelter

With the recent signing of the official documents at the notary to acquire a building, the Public Entity Saba set a next step in establishing a permanent shelter for domestic violence victims on the island.

The Public Entity Saba on Monday, July 10 signed the deed of transfer for a piece of land with thereon a residential building with six apartments. The property is located in The Bottom, in an area known as The Gap. Island Governor Jonathan Johnson, on behalf of the Public Entity Saba, and the property owner, Michael Levenstone, signed the deed of transfer at the office of Notary Marcia Bouterse.

Also present for the signing were Commissioner Eviton Heyliger, Head of the Community Development Department Rosa Johnson and Domestic Violence Coordinator Mildred Rijhiner.

The initiative to establish a shelter for victims of domestic violence is based on the domestic violence agreement with the Ministry of Public Health, Wellbeing and Sport VWS. With the establishing of the shelter in The Gap, Saba will now have a long-term solution to temporarily house victims of domestic violence. So far, Saba only had a temporary shelter.

A policy for the operations of the shelter is in place. The shelter will work in close collaboration with Kadera, an organization in the Netherlands that is specialized in domestic violence, and Krusada, which operates the shelter on Bonaire. The intention is to have the shelter on Saba open before the end of this year.