Zonta Donates Funds for Women’s Home

Battered women soon will have a safe place to move into a life without their abusers, with the help of a $25,000 pledge from the Zonta Club of the Conejo Valley.

The money will help Interface Children, Family Services of Ventura County purchase a small condominium with room for a battered woman and her children, or for two abused women. The women would stay for six to 12 months while learning to live independently.

Both organizations have been working on the details of the plan for years, and Zonta’s donation has put the dream into action. The organizations are looking for a condominium priced about $70,000, and Zonta’s pledge would cover the down payment and supplement the rent for several years. The women will pay a small amount in rent.

Interface spokeswoman Chris Rutter hopes to enter into such partnerships with other organizations.

“We’re hoping to use this model with the Zonta as a model that can be replicated with other clubs,” Rutter said. Zonta is a philanthropic club for women.

Interface has only one emergency shelter, which has room for four adults and 14 children. Rutter said Interface hopes to open the transition condominiums all over the county because studies have shown that women who live in independent units are better prepared to live on their own than those who have only been in the communal setting that shelters provide.

Rutter said part of the partnership between Interface and Zonta also will include a mentor program led by Zonta members.

“Our thought is that here are these women who are successful in business and certainly could serve as good role models for the women living there,” Rutter said.

Interface is accepting donations and furnishings for the housing unit, which will be purchased within a month. For information, call 485-6114.