A local nonprofit that provides comprehensive services for victims of child abuse, domestic violence and sexual assault has purchased land for a planned move to an as-yet built facility.

LACASA Center, which currently operates at a facility on W. Grand River Ave. in Howell Township, recently bought a 25-acre parcel of land off of Tooley Road across from the county’s EMS Center, which officials say will serve as the location for an expanded facility that will serve their needs far into the future. The property was purchased for approximately $500,000.

LACASA President & CEO Bobette Schrandt tells WHMI that the agency’s current building, constructed in 2002 following a community capital campaign, has grown too small for their needs. Schrandt says that agency, along with its Crisis Shelter, have experienced severe space shortages over the last few years. The organization recently received approval for a modular office to sit in its parking lot so as to help alleviate the space demands.

“Our services and programs have continued to expand based on community need. The number of shelter residents and agency clients have continued to increase,” Schrandt said. “Our staff has tripled in size over the last 10 years, and growth in every area of our organization has exceeded the space needed for us to operate efficiently and effectively.”

While a definitive timeline has yet to be established, Schrandt recently told the Howell Township Planning Commission that they are hoping to have the new facility built and occupied within three years. She tells WHMI that a more definitive announcement with full details is expected this fall.

The Livingston Area Council Against Spousal Abuse (L.A.C.A.S.A.) was formed in 1979 with $40 in donations, utilizing a single desk in borrowed office space. In 1981, it was officially established as a 501(c)3 nonprofit, providing advocacy services for domestic violence victims and their children. Following a community capital campaign, they moved into their current facility in 2002. Officials say that as the nonprofit expanded services to include services for victims of child abuse and sexual assault, the original name no longer accurately represented the organization’s range of services. In 2012, the agency officially changed its name to LACASA.


Picture courtesy of Google Street View.(JK)