Harbor House asks Manteno for per-resident contribution as it moves forward with $4.5 million shelter expansion

Harbor House representatives presented a request to the Village of Manteno on behalf of the domestic-violence shelter’s $4.5 million expansion, saying the agency must expand to meet community need.

"Last fiscal year, Harbor House had to deny requests for shelter 730 times due to space limitations," said the presenter for Harbor House, urging trustees to consider municipal support for the capital campaign. The project is a 12,000-square-foot facility intended to expand emergency shelter and confidential program space.

Harbor House said the $4.5 million project is funded by a $2 million DCEO grant (managed by the City of Kankakee), $500,000 from the agency’s reserves and a $2 million capital campaign. The presenter said the organization has raised about $1.5 million to date and is asking partner communities to contribute based on population. "We're asking each community to commit $4 per resident," the presenter said; using the population figure provided to the board, that request equates to roughly $37,240 for Manteno.

Mayor Mary Lamour and trustees discussed next steps: the mayor said she will bring the request to the finance committee so trustees can evaluate the ask and consider funding. Administrator Chris Larocque confirmed any decision will be discussed at committee, and the trustees invited community members and donors to work with village officials on routing any contributions.

The presentation included local context: the police chief (introduced by the presenter) described domestic-violence call volume and the shelter’s role in crisis response, and trustees repeatedly framed the request as a funding decision the finance committee will examine. The board did not take a funding vote at the meeting; Mayor Lamour said she would place the matter on the finance committee agenda for further review.

The shelter’s request and its stated statistics — 730 denials due to lack of space and 3,500 hotline calls served annually — were cited by Harbor House as the principal justification for the expansion and the municipal request.