Foundation donates $20K to LillyBrooke
SANDPOINT — The LillyBrooke Family Justice Center is the recipient of $20,000 in donations from the Ambrosiani-Pastore Foundation.
Bonner County commissioners cracked open their budget Tuesday to install the unanticipated revenue, which came in the form of two $10,000 donations from Jack and Mary Jo Ambrosiani.
LillyBrooke, which is operated by the Bonner County Prosecutor’s Office and the Victim Advocate Services Team, is a support tool for victims of domestic and sexual battery. Staff at the facility, located in the historic McFarland house at the corner of First and Superior, can perform forensic interviews and medical exams, in addition to counseling and advocacy.
LillyBrooke opened earlier this year with grant funding obtained by the prosecutor’s office and Kaniksu Health Services through the Idaho Council on Domestic Violence & Victim Assistance. The grant covers the home’s rent and utilities. Operators hoped to raise additional funding to outfit exam rooms and set up an audio/visual recording system that allows victims to recount their experiences in a comforting setting, eliminating the need to reiterate those experiences to various different agencies in decidedly more sterile environments.
“They would all respond here. Instead of sending that kid to all those different agencies to speak to all those different people, everyone comes here,” said Peggy Frye, a victim witness coordinator for the prosecutor’s office said when the facility opened.
The result is less fractured investigations and less strain on victims, according to LillyBrooke officials.
LillyBrooke officials were not immediately available for comment on Tuesday.
Bonner County Commission Chairman Glen Bailey was grateful for the Ambrosiani-Pastore’s contribution to LillyBrooke, the only facility of its kind in Bonner and Boundary counties.
“This was a very generous donation from the Ambrosiani-Pastore Foundation. It will be very helpful to the functions and the services provided by LillyBrooke,” said Bailey. “It’s a good thing.”
Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.