DAVENPORT, Iowa — Argrow's House is continuing to grow! The nonprofit has announced that it bought a strip mall in Davenport.
The space at 3811 Harrison St. has a restaurant that will now be a place where the women of Argrow's House can sell their bath and body products through a storefront, run a small cafe and pursue social innovation.
"It's a space where our ladies can work, but also a place where the community can come and interact with some of our ladies. A space where community members can come and learn how to make our products and can have parties," said Argrow's founder, Dr. Kit Ford. "We hope that this is not only a place where our ladies can get more hours and they're healing from violence, but also and putting more money in their pockets."
The mall also used to house a martial arts studio and occupational therapy center that will become the new home of Autistic & Loved, a store providing chewable jewelry and special gifts for autistic children and families. Eventually, organizers will transform that space into a sensory-friendly gym, life skills space, calming room, and safe area for kids with autism to play in while parents have workshops and support groups.
"We've gotten the funding to move things forward with creating the first really large sensory friendly gym in the Quad Cities for kids with special needs," Ford said.
The new location on Harrison Street officially opens on September 19.
Additionally, Argrow's House has been working on a documentary, partially filmed at the new location, about some of the QC organizations that serve, employ and empower marginalized populations.
"We're stronger together. We're serving together. We work to learn from each other. But there were so many really good lessons and nuggets from this documentary," Ford said.
The documentary will feature Argrow's House, The Arc, Nest Cafe, Transitions Mental Health Services, Tapestry Farms and One Eighty. It will premiere on September 19 and play daily at Argrow's new location.
For years, Argrow's House has helped women throughout the community as they heal from domestic and sexual abuse and violence. The nonprofit provides free services such as support groups, yoga, spiritual direction, therapy, massage therapy and more.
The group also looks to support and empower its women through financial means. It runs a bath and body product business for participants to create all-natural items and provide themselves with a living wage. You can check out their products for sale here.
In 2019, Argrow's House founder, Dr. Kit Ford, was honored with the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Award for Outstanding Public Service Benefiting Local Communities. The award was given to her during the National Jefferson Awards Ceremony in Washington D.C. She is one of only five people in the country who was honored that year. Her original Jefferson Award nomination came from WQAD, which you can read here.
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