ABOUT US

The Caring Place was incorporated in 1978 as a volunteer-operated organization. In April 1979, it began serving victims at the former convent of St. Bridget’s Church in Hobart. Later, the organization rented the Wolf Mansion in Porter County while looking for a place to purchase.

In October 1986, The Caring Place acquired a large farmhouse outside Wheeler. Up until that time, the agency provided temporary shelter, 24-hour crisis intervention and case management services for victims of domestic violence. With the move, the agency also began providing advocacy services to both resident and non-resident victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. In the summer of 1990, the shelter moved to its present undisclosed Valparaiso site with a 24-bed capacity.

In 2002, a larger facility was purchased to replace the small house that served as an administrative and community advocacy office. Administrative staff, including the Porter County Sexual Assault Advocate and Legal Services Coordinator, work from the Community Advocacy Center. The building also contains a library, conference room, children’s playroom, reception area, kitchen and large donation storage area. The Community advocates in Lake and Starke counties work from space donated by local churches.

On October 15, 2018, The Caring Place broke ground on a new domestic violence shelter in Porter County, serving the Northwest Indiana region.

 The new Caring Place Center for Change, our shelter and advocacy center, opened on October 18, 2019, shortly before the Covid-19 global pandemic and remained open through the ongoing challenges of the pandemic and post-pandemic environment.

The Caring Place seeks to break the silence that hides the violence through our Let's Start Talking: Filling the Gaps! Campaign.  The agency’s services have changed and expanded beyond the early years of solely providing shelter. Today, 11 full-time and 7 part-time staff serve the needs of almost 125-150 shelter residents and another 300-350 community clients, as well as raise awareness about relationship violence to thousands of community residents.