For twenty six years, the Bridge to Hope Shelter has made many victims of domestic and sexual abuse feel safe.

Now, local construction crews are making the Menomonie shelter safer.

The Chippewa Valley Home Builders Association chooses one non-profit group a year to receive free renovations, and staff members at the Bridge to Hope say these upgrades are saving their budget.

"We were very lucky this year to get chosen to be their big project," says Liz Jones, breathing a sigh of relief.

She knows that after this week's repairs, he victims of abuse seeking shelter at the bridge to hope will be breathing fresher air in a healthy and safe environment.

"The wall going up to our shelter was molding inside and warped," describes Jones.

Besides dealing with water damage, the house also needed a new fire escape. But Jones says they didn’t know how to pay for the repairs.

"Being a non-profit, we have very limited funding and trying to have money to create programming for our clients as well as pay our staff and keep our building in good repair, it really stretches that budget pretty tight," Jones says.

That's where the Chippewa Valley Home Builders Association came in, contacting local builders to help with renovations.

"They called looking for help, so we had the time, so we thought, well might as well give it a shot and help out whoever needs help," says Derick Hainstock of Hainstock Construction.

So the shelter will get its new staircase, insulation, and roof repairs. Jones says the help is much appreciated, especially by the victims.

"It's already hard enough to leave your home, and we want to make sure people feel at least somewhat comfortable, to make it as nice as possible, and as close to a home feeling as we can," says Jones.

Several contractors are working on the project, donating the time and resources. If they stay on schedule, all the repairs should be wrapped up by Wednesday.

The Bridge to Hope serves victims of domestic violence and sexual assault throughout the Dunn and Pepin counties area.