STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

The Advocates have seen an alarming growth in the need for their services this past year.

But Wednesday evening was a night to celebrate as donors and founders came together at Gail Severn Gallery to celebrate a successful $10.5 million campaign for the new THRIVE Center for Safety and Healing. An anonymous donor put an exclamation point on the celebration by throwing in an extra half-million dollars for an endowment to maintain the building.

The 22,000-square-foot center, designed by Errin Bliss and to be built by Adam Elias, will break ground in April 2025 in Hailey. The Advocates hope to move in in September 2026.

“We wanted to raise every dime so we could be smart with our money before we got started,” said Shannon Nichols, director of development for The Advocates.

The building will add 20 units of transitional housing apartments, doubling the number of such units for those escaping domestic violence. The project will double the number of youngsters who can be accepted by The Advocates’ affordable child care and early learning center.

The building will offer a meeting space for community organizations that can sit a hundred people and a community kitchen for classes and events.

The first floor of the three-story building will include four shared offices, three meeting rooms, a multi-purpose room, children’s play area, youth meeting room, food bank, conference room, clothes closet  and kitchen with three cooking stations.

The second floor will include a laundry, three two-bedroom unit, three studio units, five single-bedroom units. The third floor will include three single-bedroom units, three 2-bedroom units, one 3-bedroom unit and three studio nits, as well as a second laundry and storage.

Moving the children’s center will enable The Advocates to provide four units of employee housing in the building currently being used. The Advocates has 53 employees—more than 20 of them fulltime.

The gathering included two of the founders of The Advocates, as well as numerous private donors.

Among the donations was a $3 million AGP grant obtained through Zions Bank’s membership in the Federal Home Loan Bank of De Moines. Zions Bank helped The Advocates with the competitive application process, which saw 55 organizations receive grants.

Zions Bank Vice President Tracy Groll noted that Zions Bank has been involved with The Advocates since employees helped paint one of its rooms during the bank’s annual Paint-a-Thon. Zions and The Advocates narrowly missed getting a $1 million grant for the new center earlier because they missed one of the check boxes. But that turned out to be a good thing, he said, as they received triple the amount this year.

Brady Ellis, an executive vice president with the Idaho Housing and Finance Association, said his organization offered The Advocates a $1 million contribution as part of its effort to contribute to homeless initiatives.

“They have a wonderful vision—for me it was a no brainer,” he said.

The James M. Cox Foundation awarded $200,000 to The Advocates for its THRIVE Kids Early Learning Center. The Foundation is the charitable arm of Cox Enterprises, the parent company of the 127-year-old Cox Communications and named after the company’s founder who, Sun Valley Market Vice President Guy Cherp noted, was a three-time Ohio governor and the 1920 Democratic nominee for President.

Cherp said Cox is committed to empowering the community

“The Advocates is such a wonderful organization—we’re thrilled to be part of this program and the impact they will have. Cox and The Advocates share a common goal of improving the quality of life in the communities we serve,” he said.  “From emergency shelter and transitional housing to proven educational and other supportive programs, The Advocates is a critical resource for survivors and their children with an ever-increasing demand for services.”

The Advocates’ THRIVE Kids Early Learning Center launched in summer 2024 in Hailey. It has provided space for 31 children aged 3 months to 5 years. And, when a space opens up, it’s immediately filled,  said Ana Villanueva, director of youth Services for The Advocates.

“We are incredibly thankful for the generosity of the James M. Cox Foundation and ongoing support of Cox and its Sun Valley employees over the past decade,” said Swartling.

The Advocates was founded in 1991. It teaches adults and children how to build and maintain healthy relationships and offers an array of other services, including a 24-hour bilingual helpline, crisis shelter, case management advocacy and life skills training.

Swartling says the fact that the new building is in the heart of Hailey means that it will continue to be able to help others who walk in off the streets seeking gas cards and food assistance.

“It doesn’t matter if you live in a million-dollar house or the back of your car. We’re there to help,” said Nichols.

ADVOCATES STATS

During 2024 The Advocates provided 24-hour support and service to 801 victims of abuse, up 15 percent from last year.

They answered 51 calls for help each day, provided food assistance 695 times and offered 7,554 safe nights in the crisis shelter. Counting transitional housing, they provided 23,707 safe nights of sleep, up 9 percent from last year as 95 children called The Advocates home.

The length of stay in the shelter increased to 71 days on average compared to 47 days the year before

Case management sessions rose 134 percent. The Advocate provided 521 hours of free legal services for divorce and custody and advocated for 51 sexual assault survivors.

Last year 157 people participated in Empowerment Programs, including English Language Classes, Computer Education Skills, Healing Yoga, Skills for Success Employment Program, Smart About Money Economic Empowerment, Parent Support Sessions and Healing from Sexual Abuse Workshops.

The Advocates Attic thrift store provided 1,747 Attic Vouchers valued at $76,042 to local individuals in need of warm clothes, shoes, dishes and furniture, up 16 percent from the year before.

The Advocates are trying to raise $650,000 to address these needs. Jeanne Herberger has offered a $125,000 matching grant, doubling donation dollars. Learn more at https://www.theadvocatesorg.org/events