Explore Okoboji
Listen Now! music notes icon
Listen! music notes icon 77° sun icon
  • Home
  • News
  • CAASA Hoping To Get Back Into Their Spencer Headquarters Soon

CAASA Hoping To Get Back Into Their Spencer Headquarters Soon

November 26, 2024 Steve Schwaller

(Spencer)– The Center Against Abuse and Sexual Assault, or CAASA, continues to recover after the agency’s headquarters in Spencer were heavily damaged in the June flood. Executive Director Stephanie Heinrich says they’ve been operating out of a temporary facility since then and that they look forward to the day when they can move back into their permanent facility…

“You never thought you so traumatized when it’s not my home, but in truly, it is our home. And with CAASA all these clients, you know, the appear, they go to that office, they come right off the street. And that office supported 19 counties in northwest Iowa. It covered all the food and supplies for advocates, also any furniture that needed to go to clients would be dropped off from other communities around here. Also, there was all the supplies for the advocates for their clients. Any kind of folders or pens or pencils or paper that they needed. So that building meant a lot to us.”

Heinrich says they’ve been using local businesses and contractors to restore the building…

“Such as furniture, also using the heating and plumbing companies, everything that we can. So we like to give back to the community that has given to us.”

Heinrich says CAASA itself is paying for the work to repair the building. She says that due to interest and other factors, they determined applying for loans through FEMA and the SBA just wouldn’t be feasible. As a result, Heinrich says they had to cash in a CD for $111,000 and were able to collect $82,000 in donations to fund the work, along with some other sacrifices they had to make…

“With doing that I had to close down offices which was Estherville and Alton to be able to afford in my budget, and I can tell you that is hurting us but also helping us at the same time.”

Heinrich says CAASA hopes to be able to move back into their headquarters soon but she says getting new flooring installed is going to push that into the new year.

Back to News