A Johnson County nonprofit is building a new emergency shelter for victims of domestic violence.

The Domestic Violence Intervention Program has seen a 38% increase in the number of victims seeking support, either through shelter or other advocacy services, since 2017, according to the organization's development director Alta Medea-Peters.

"In part this is due to increased awareness, increased stressors exacerbated by victim-survivors isolating with their abusers, and an increase in the legality of the violence that victim-survivors are experiencing," Medea-Peters wrote to the Register.

Medea-Peters said the COVID-19 pandemic also created greater stressors which led more victims to seek assistance.

In response, the organization announced it plans to break ground on a completely new shelter to replace the old one, which "is at capacity 365 days each year and has been every day since the organization began in 1979," according to a press release. The location is confidential to protect people who need to stay there, Medea-Peters said.

The new shelter will be equipped with "state-of-the-art security measures" and double the space, increasing the capacity from approximately 35 beds to 70, according to Medea-Peters. The new shelter also will have private suites available to families and individuals, she said.

Trained staff will be available on-site at all hours to provide counseling and other support to victims. The space will be designed to include "more trauma-informed spaces to serve clients," Medea-Peters said.

Construction is set to start in early May, according to the release.

“We are grateful to be moving forward with this new shelter to provide a safe haven for victim/survivors of domestic violence,” executive director Kristie Fortmann-Doser said in the release. "... It is vital for us to meet the increased need and update our space to provide the best possible services to those most vulnerable in our community.”

How to seek help if you are a victim of domestic violence

If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, reach out to:

• Domestic Violence Intervention program, which provides services to victims in eight counties in southeastern Iowa, including Johnson County and Linn County. Reach out at 800-373-1043 or learn more by visiting https://dvipiowa.org/.

• Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence, which serves all 99 counties in Iowa. To locate a program near you, visit icadv.org.

• Iowa Victims Service Call Center. It provides free, confidential resources for anyone experiencing domestic violence. Advocates are available 24/7 at 1-800-770-1650, or text IOWAHELP to 20121. To learn more, visit the center's website at survivorshelp.org.

• Safe at Home program run by the Iowa Secretary of State's Office, which provides substitute addresses, mail-forwarding services and confidential voter registration for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking, stalking or other violent crimes. To learn more, visit safeathome.iowa.gov.

• National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Or text START to 88788. Learn more at thehotline.org.

• Love is Respect Teen Dating Violence Hotline at 1-866-9474. It also can be reached by texting LOVEIS to 22522. Learn more at loveisrespect.org.

Francesca Block is a breaking news reporter at the Des Moines Register. Reach her at FBlock@registermedia.com or on Twitter at @francescablock3.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Johnson County nonprofit to build shelter for domestic violence victims