Freedom House receives $206,400 in gifts for a counseling and advocacy facility in Geneseo

Freedom House has announced the receipt of two major gifts that enable the victim-service agency to establish a new satellite office in the City of Geneseo.

The Geneseo Foundation and the Francis G. and Betty J. Miller Foundation together granted the agency $206,400 to open and staff a counseling and advocacy facility in Geneseo.

The office, scheduled to open within the next two weeks, is located at 105 South Chicago Street.

“These generous grants will help Freedom House deliver vital services to the residents of Geneseo and all of western Henry County,” Executive Director Michael Zerneck said.

In giving the award, the Geneseo Foundation stated that the new office will “enhance the quality of life for the Geneseo community,” and the Miller Foundation said that the proposed Freedom House expansion “meets the goals of the Foundation.”

“Freedom House board member and long-time Geneseo resident Mark Breeden was instrumental in helping us to obtain these gifts, which will help us to fulfill our mission to serve every victim of domestic and sexual violence in the Geneseo area,” Zerneck said.

Freedom House, a non-profit 501c3 corporation, is a domestic and sexual violence agency for Bureau, Henry, Marshall, Putnam, and Stark counties in Illinois.

Headquartered in Princeton, with satellite offices in Cambridge, Geneseo, and Kewanee, Freedom House employs skilled professionals to provide free, confidential, quality services to victims of abuse and their families, including a 24-hour crisis hotline (800-474-6031), emergency shelter, medical and legal advocacy, adult and child counseling, awareness and prevention education and training for volunteers and professionals.

In the past year, Freedom House staff has provided needed services to more than 800 victims (and families) of domestic and sexual violence.

For more information about their services, call 815-872-0087 or visit their website and http://www.freedomhouseillinois.org and find them on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.