Help line expected by mid-August

By BRENT SHRUM Western News Reporter

A new organization to aid victims of domestic violence and sexual assault is expected to be up and running in Lincoln County by mid-August.

Lincoln County Crisis Solutions recently obtained a $28,000 grant from the Montana Board of Crime Control and is in the process of hiring a program director, representatives Laura Sedler and Pam Rhodes told the Lincoln County Commissioners on Wednesday.

Five highly qualified applicants were interviewed, Sedler said. She said the group hopes to have a director on the job by Aug. 1.

Lincoln County Crisis Solutions will fill the void left by the Lincoln County Help Line when it disbanded two years ago, providing the same basic services, Sedler said.

"There's a whole new organization," she told the commissioners. "We need to make it clear to everybody."

Currently, calls to the former Help Line number are being handled by an organization based in Kalispell. Sedler said the new organization is scheduled to start providing crisis line services on Aug. 15.

In addition to providing a hot line and counseling services, the Help Line operated an emergency shelter in Libby for domestic abuse victims. The house was turned over to the city when the Help Line disbanded and is currently being rented to a tenant. Crisis Solutions also plans to operate a shelter and received the go-ahead from the commissioners on Wednesday to use the basement of the county's building at the corner of Fifth Street and Main Avenue. The county nurse and juvenile probation offices are located on the upper floor, and until recently the basement housed the Choices youth shelter.

The director's office will be located in the building's basement along with the shelter. The facility is smaller than the house used by the Help Line, which was difficult to maintain and rarely at capacity, Sedler noted. She added that security should be less of a concern at the new facility because of its close proximity to the sheriff's office.

The commissioners agreed to allow Crisis Solutions to use the facility rent-free for the time being, paying only expenses. The group is applying for additional grants and expects to receive more funding in the fall, at which time a rental agreement is to be negotiated.