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Pouring concrete at Jessie’s House

For almost a decade, the top priority of the Jessica Martel Memorial Foundation has been to assist women and children fleeing domestic violence.

For almost a decade, the top priority of the Jessica Martel Memorial Foundation has been to assist women and children fleeing domestic violence.

The organization’s aspiration to build an emergency first stage shelter for women and children in crisis hit pay dirt. Jessie’s House recently began construction and will support survivors of domestic violence in Morinville, Sturgeon County and St. Albert.

This mainstream shelter, pegged at $1.2 million (build only), is expected to take 12 months to construct and 18 months to be fully operational.

Designed by Andre Bourgeois and built by Richly Custom Homes, the safe house can accommodate 20 people. It has a kitchen, dining area, bedrooms, spiritual room, a sensory room, child minding areas, retreat space, a group healing room, laundry room and an open study area.

The primary objectives are to provide temporary housing while offering mental health, social and legal support. Ultimately, the shelter will give women an opportunity to look forward instead of backwards.

For Lynne Rosychuk, Martel’s mother and president of the Jessica Martel Memorial Foundation board of directors, the build is a dream come true.

“The support has been amazing. When I talk about it, it brings me to tears. It was hard to lose my daughter, but it was wonderful to see how many people want to see something good come out of this horrible incident. I know when the safe house opens, I’ll be a blubbering mess.”

The safe house comes out of a horrific act of violence that rocked Morinville almost 10 years ago. James Urbaniak, Jessica Martel’s abusive common-law husband, murdered her on April 29, 2009, the day she was planning to leave him permanently.

He beat, stabbed and strangled her. Police found the couple’s three children, all under the age of seven, in a bedroom with blood on their clothes and in shock.

In spite of the staggering pain, Rosychuk chose to fulfil one of her daughter’s dreams – building a shelter in Morinville.

“There were times of frustration and I wondered why I was doing it. But every time something didn’t work out, something better came along.”

The main obstacle was zero dollars in the bank. However, people hearing about this dream to build a safe house in a small rural town were captivated and started making donations – big and small.

As the money trickled in, the foundation started an outreach program in 2012. A few years later, the Jessica Martel Foundation Break Free Run was launched and by 2015, the Break Free Gala also became a fundraising staple.

Last year, Morinville’s Dairy Queen raised $7,000 on Blizzard Day. An anonymous donor presented the foundation with a $142,000 cheque. The United Steelworkers put up $70,000, and Pembina Pipelines even sponsored a common living area for $100,000.

Kris Porlier, a paramedic who has worked with police victim services and who attended school with Martel, joined the board in 2015. While Rosychuk was the face of the foundation, Porlier lent his talents to the housing committee.

Through his work travelling across the province, he was able to visit 12 different safe houses to see what policies worked and what needed tweaking.

“We wanted to get the best policies that best reflect our clients. We wanted to take the time to get it right,” Porlier said.

The committee sat down with numerous stakeholders: various councils, the RCMP, Family and Child Services, a homebuilder, an interior designer, a bylaw officer and every tradesperson required to build a shelter.

“We also sat down with clients and asked what policies they thought were effective.”

For everyone who weathered the obstacles, the house is being built with “labour and love.”

Rosychuk adds, “I want to thank everyone involved. This wouldn’t be happening without their support and because of them, we’ll have something to positive to remember my daughter by instead of heartbreak.”

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