Sojourner Center Will Be a National Model

The new Sojourner Family Peace Center is nearing completion. Photo by Brendan Murphy.

The 56-bed Sojourner Family Peace Center, now under construction at 619 W. Walnut St., in the Hillside neighborhood, will be the largest multi-agency comprehensive provider of domestic violence prevention and intervention services in the country when it opens later this year. The services will be provided through a co-located, collaborative effort of Sojourner, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Police Department, and the Milwaukee County District Attorney‘s office.

“This is a project that will be a model not just for this community, not just for this state, but as we were talking before in this country, for collaborative services that don’t just provide temporary relief, they provide the whole spectrum of services to insure we break the cycle of domestic violence,” declared Gov. Scott Walker during the groundbreaking ceremony.

“This is more than just a building, we are creating a new way of serving families and a new way to partner to help those who have been hurt by violence in our community,” Sojourner Family Peace Center Executive Director Carmen Pitre proclaimed.

The State of Wisconsin contributed $10.3 million for the project. And in 2014, the project was 1 of 20 organizations that received a portion of $3,004,228 raised during the Greater Milwaukee Foundation‘s yearly Match Day project.

Construction of the center should be complete by Fall 2015.

Our photos capture the progress made to date on the building.

Photo Gallery by Brendan Murphy