Whiskey & Honey Salon Owner Donates Time & Attention to Domestic Violence

For many people, a check to a local charity is a way to give back. For community volunteer and local business owner Will Turpin, there seemed to be more that could be done at Coburn Place Safe Haven. After he took a tour of the Northside Indianapolis transitional home for families affected by domestic violence, he was convinced.

Will, owner of Whiskey & Honey Salon, helps Coburn kids with their homework and art projects, rounds up donors for two annual fundraising events, drives around the city to pick up donations for the Coburn Place pantry, and more. Some days, it still doesn’t seem like enough. But his 12 hours or more a month touch a personal place, as domestic violence affected his family and his mother. His business reflects his commitment, as well. There are Coburn Place stickers, coffee mugs and domestic violence hotline numbers throughout the salon.

“For me, I work with women all day and every day,” Will said. His salon makes a perfect safe setting where someone might be able to reach out, ask for a phone number — or find out about a safe place to go, such as Coburn Place. The wait can be long for transitional housing, but 92% of Coburn “graduates” exit to safe housing of their choice, often being provided the donated furniture, pots and pans and bedding with them to start a new place. Will's rounds are always necessary, because the pantry and donated household goods can be depleted quickly based on the nature of transitional housing. Coburn isn’t meant to be a permanent haven, but a place where a family lives, learns, re-unites and gets on steady footing again.

Last year, Coburn Place provided more than 31,000 days of safe housing to 65 adults and 112 children. “People here are given the chance to become whole again,” Will said, which is why he keeps domestic violence issues top of mind. “Coburn really takes families who are just surviving and sets them up to be successful.” Can you do more for Coburn Place during Domestic Violence Awareness Month this October and become a #HopeLineHero like Will Turpin? You can. Simply donate your no-longer-used wireless devices at the Sunday, Oct. 25 Colts home game.

Volunteers will be at the entrance gates from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. All donations become cash grants for Coburn through HopeLine from Verizon. And if you don’t have a device to donate, simply drop some change and bills into a volunteer’s donation jar or find the time to volunteer.