COVID Can't Stop EVE
Creating healing and compassionate support services for survivors of domestic and sexual violence, stalking and elder abuse.
Letter from the Board
Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean. – Ryunosuke Satoro
EVE has always been a community organization. We were originally started by Lansing community members who saw the need to provide safe shelter to women fleeing abusive relationships. And as we have grown and expanded the ways we serve survivors of domestic and sexual violence, our community has continued to support our mission and stand with survivors.
This past year was unlike any year we’ve ever experienced. But our community did what they always do: they stepped up to fill the gaps. They reached out to the most vulnerable. They found a way to stand with survivors- even from six feet away.2020 could have been the year that Mid-Michiganders stepped back and let somebody else worry about survivors of intimate partner violence. But it wasn’t.
The stay at home order could have isolated survivors from their lifeline of hope and support. But it didn’t. The economic struggle from a global pandemic could have stifled the generosity that the Lansing community has always had for survivors. But it didn’t. Instead, our community came forward - stronger and louder than ever before. Longtime supporters reached out and renewed their support. New supporters found us and asked how to help. Board members and staff worked together to keep serving survivors no matter how many obstacles popped up.
EVE is proud to serve the Lansing area, and honored to be supported by so many fiercely passionate advocates for our mission. The task of ending domestic and sexual violence would be impossible to accomplish alone. But thanks to our community- we are an ocean rising up against violence in our community. Thank you for standing with us.
Caitlinn McGinn
Board President
2020 Board of Directors
Caitlin McGinn, President
Michigan Department of Corrections
Elizabeth Battiste, Vice President
Martin Waymire
Brigitte Gurden, MLD
Executive Director of EVE
Lesley Bergquist, Treasurer
Simplified Accounting
Jenny Bond, PhD
Retired, MSU Professor
Amanda Elliott, MS, Secretary
Michigan Department of Corrections
Harriet Greenstone
Retired, DHHS
Stephanie Halfmann
Director, MPHI
Ben Marciniak-Jennings
Edward Jones
John Morris
Dart Bank
Caitlin O'Rourke
Capitol Fundraising Associates
Karen Stefl
Render Studios
Debbie Richards
Michigan State University & Playmakers
BIKE TO BENEFIT EVE
Jerry Harte rode his bike 41.5 miles is 4 hours (after collecting donations for more than 3 months) to raise awareness for survivors. He raised $3,750 for survivors with his fundraiser. Thank you Jerry!
100 WOMEN WHO CARE
EVE was honored to be chosen by 100 Women Who Care to receive their annual donation totaling more than $21,000. We are encouraged to have the support of this amazing group of women in our community.
ADOPT A FAMILY
Because of your support in 2019, we were able to provide a wonderful, healing holiday season to 65 of our client families. Thank you to everyone who adopted a family and showed their support!
2020
HIGHLIGHTS
HEALING SPACES
With the support of key community resources, EVE updated counseling spaces to calm spaces that are conducive to healing. Trauma-informed design is crucial when working to overcome trauma.
IMPACTFUL PARTNERSHIPS
EVE teamed up with Safe Center to provide healthy relationships training to over 500 middle school students.
EVE GIVES JUSTICE GALA
EVE held its first virtual gala to bring together supporters and show survivors that they are not alone. Together, we raised more than $16,750 to provide legal services to survivors.
DONATING HEALTH
Lansing breweries and distilleries quickly shifted gears to make hand sanitizer for shelters in the area who couldn't get enough sanitizer initially. Thank you Mary Kay Foundation, Michigrain and American Fifth!
SHARI MURGITTROYD SCHOLARSHIP
EVE renamed our scholarship fund to honor former board president, Shari Murgittroyd who left a legacy of fierce advocacy for survivors when she passed away this year. EVE awarded the first scholarship this year.
STUFF THE BUS
JCI Lansing once again stuffed the bus with toys for the children living in the shelter as well as toiletries, cleaning supplies, and hygiene products for survivors.
Creating Healing Spaces
We're thrilled to have updated several key areas of the shelter to ensure the best possible environment for survivors to find safety and healing.
Evidence-based design research highlights the power of the environment to support improved outcomes for clients who have experienced trauma. Healing spaces can alleviate and even reverse stress or harm; foster connection of the mind, body, and spirit; and foster healthy relationships.
Trauma-informed design is about integrating the principles of trauma-informed care into design with the goal of creating physical spaces that promote safety, well-being and healing.
This requires realizing how the physical environment affects identity, worth and dignity, and how it promotes empowerment. It requires recognizing that the physical environment has an impact on attitude, mood and behavior because there is a strong link between our physiological state, our emotional state and the physical environment. It also means that intentionally designing and maintaining healing environments leads to empowerment and resists retraumatizing those who have already experienced so much trauma.
"Offering a safe space for survivors has always been a top priority. With our upgraded spaces, clients will find welcoming, safe, and helpful spaces to help in their healing journeys. Having counseling spaces that offer comfortable seating, calm lighting, and a neutral color palette, clients can now focus solely on their traumas, experiences, and healing. We can't wait to welcome clients back to our new spaces!"
–Rachel Fraley, Director of Counseling
"
We can't wait to welcome clients back to our new spaces!"
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Main Highlight of 2020
EVE Gives Justice Virtual Gala
2020:
A Year
Like
None
Other
2020 was a year that none of us could have anticipated. But our team and our community leapt into action to continue serving survivors. Our shelter staff implemented rigorous cleaning schedules. Our PPO office moved forms and services online and added computers to provide a way for survivors to attend virtual court dates with their advocate while social distancing. Our community relations team published timely tips for staying safe during the pandemic, while our counselors found creative ways to serve survivors virtually.
And, not surprisingly, our community reached out in droves to offer support: Local breweries repurposed equipment to make hand sanitizer for us, we received surprise deliveries of paper products and masks, and local community groups created their own fundraisers to support survivors amidst the pandemic.
Though it was difficult at times, our passion and perseverance for assisting survivors of domestic and sexual violence, stalking, and elder abuse won out in the end. This year may have challenged us and made us adapt in new ways, but we are proud to say that COVID CAN'T STOP EVE AND CAN'T STOP LANSING!
Despite a global pandemic, EVE was able to provide:
7,846 Nights of Safe Shelter
1,609 Crisis Line Calls
Our community stepped up in incredible ways, providing thermometers, hand sanitizer, and disinfectant wipes to ensure the safety of our staff and clients. This allowed us to keep our doors open for survivors fleeing abusive relationships.
Our crisis line staff have always been "essential," but this year they truly outdid themselves. They maintained 24/7 crisis intervention and ensured the shelter maintained proper sanitation and screenings to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
97 Residential Clients
57 Children
Face-to-face advocacy may have required masks, but even that could not hinder the compassion and fierce advocacy our staff showed to keep survivors safe and build bravery and resiliency.
2020 was anything but normal, but that did not stop EVE and the community from fostering a sense of normalcy for the children living in our shelter. With donated art supplies, crafts, toys, and board games, joyous laughter and creativity continued to fill our halls.
674 Non-Residential Clients
2,470 Hours of Counseling
Survivors were faced with stay-at-home orders, but for many survivors of domestic violence, home is not always safe. Our non-residential team worked with survivors to put safety plans in place and provide advocacy and support when things became overwhelming.
To ensure the safety of our counseling team and clients, our counseling appointments shifted to online. Though COVID added an extra layer of trauma, our counselors listened with empathy and understanding, helping provide coping mechanisms and some stability in uncertain times.
401 Sexual Assault Clients
259 Medical Advocacy Clients
"Isolated" is often the feeling we hear from survivors of sexual violence, which was amplified by COVID. Our sexual assault team worked tirelessly with survivors to help them feel heard, supported, and not alone.
While incidents of sexual assault spiked during the lock down orders, we were faced with a shortage of Medical Advocates to meet survivors at the hospital. Our dedicated team rose to the challenge, working around the clock to meet the needs of survivors. We also worked with Sparrow to address the logistics of keeping survivors and our staff safe, implementing procedures to allow advocates to continue to serve survivors and minimize health risks.
2,454 Personal Protection Orders
99 Clients with Legal Services
To adapt to a remote world, our PPO office transitioned necessary forms to an online format and created videos to ensure they were filled out properly. We also installed laptops in our administrative office to allow clients to attend virtual court appointments with an advocate in the room while maintaining social distancing.
With a growing list of clients, our supporters came together to help fund a second staff attorney, while our current attorney worked with clients virtually to help with civil matters including child custody, landlord-tenant issues, and divorce. All of these services help survivors build pathways to safety.
11,933 Community Members Educated
Our community outreach team quickly adjusted 2020 plans to bring programming to online platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams. With ingenuity and creativity, the team brought important information directly to the community, hosting a series of successful webinars and live videos to discuss important topics around sexual and domestic violence, stalking, and elder abuse.
Audited Financial Summary
Total Revenue: $1,716,990.44
Support & Revenue
Expenses
-
Capital Region Community Foundation Child & Adult Care Food Program City of East Lansing
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City of Lansing Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention & Treatment Board
Grants, Foundations & Endowments
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Safe Haven
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The Dart Foundation
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Vanguard Charitable
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WalMart
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Zonta Club of MI Capital Area
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Zonta Club of Lansing
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MI State Housing Development Authority
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Office on Violence Against Women
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Phillip & Sylvia Frederickson Foundation
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Donovan Family Fund
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AmazonSmile Foundation
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Greater Lansing Food Bank
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Ingham County Community Agency Fund
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Benevity Community Impact Fund Capital Area United Way
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Mary Kay Foundation
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Mason Area Community Fund
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Maximus Foundation
2019-2020 EVE Volunteers
Alexis Cooper
Alicia Storey
Amanda Addiego
Aneysa Rogers
Anna Tomlanovich
Ashleigh Berry
Bella Spognardi
Brittany Edwards
Caitlin Yarbrough
Casey Guthrie
Casey Kotrba
Catherine Hazekamp
Courtney Bryant
Courtney Cole
Courtney Fricker
Dalesha Ashford
Deena Agree
Ebone Anderson
Effat Id-Deen
Elizabeth Peralta
Elizabeth Watkins
GAP Girls
Jackie Wilcox
Jeanette Patterson
Jessica Romero
Julia Wiles
Kayla Withers
Kelly Voisinet
Kelly Warner
Kenya Husband
LaToya Scott
Lillian Brooks
Macie Henige
Media Mizori
Meeko Moore
Michelle Flynn
Miranda Bargert
Rachel Black
Rachel Cortez
Rebekah Boothroyd
Renee Hill
Rita Patino
Shani Saxon
Susan Jahn
Tanesha Ash-Shakoor
Trevor Mieczkowski
Victoria Rife
Top 100 Donors
Linda Lacki and Jack Freeman
Richard Otto Charitable Fund
Phillip Frederickson Foundation
Jerry and Diane Harte
Thelen Family
Murphy & Spagnuolo PC (Vincent Spagnuolo)
Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC)
Dart Bank
Lansing Board of Water and Light (BWL)
Marla Mitchell-Cichon
MSU Federal Credit Union
Samantha Amburgey
Grace Escamilla
Fairchild Lebel & Rice, PC
Inspirational Cutouts
David Jordan
Rocco Tondo
Van Atta's Greenhouse
David Agnew
Phyllis Easton
Alex Rusek
Consumers Energy
Sharon O'Day
Photo Statuettes
James Zacks
Charlene DeVoe
Susan Mau and the Mary Kay Foundation
Lora Hodges
Caitlin McGinn
Genentech, Inc
Angela Clock
Carol Prahinski
Rachel Recker
Scott Schrager
Terese Walsh
Okemos Community Church, OCC Women
Harriet Greenstone
Mary Smaltz
Kusitino Cobona
Cara Boucher
Julia Goatley
Allie Greer
Uncle Johns Cider
Douglas Howard
Elizabeth Rhodes
Tiffany Stanley
Amanda Elliott
Nicole Bohnett
Antonio Camargo Villari
Gretchen Couraud
LAFCU
North Pointe Bank- Dewitt Branch
Abby Schwartz
Heather Zynda
Karel Jeffrey Griffin
Teddy Eisenhut
Pat Benton
Pat Brown
Patricia Dorn
Denise Gearhart (Gearhart Nutrition)
Sandy Male
Robert Mitts & Darnell
Patricia Sperti
George Falk
Reagan Quick-Severin
Carol Siemon
Monica Butler
Camilla Hogan
Matthew Lersch
Roger Martin
Merrilee Parker
Ashlea Phenicie
Laura Zeller
James Dedyne
Anita Stevens
Leslie Bergquist
Doug Kosinski
Sue Balger
Julia Bishop
Marge Bossenbery
Christopher Carl
Mike Danko
Charles Finkel
Doug and Darlene
Joanne Golden
Gregg Granger
Ronald Hope
Kathleen Kane
Daniel Lagrou
William Rittenberg
Joan Witter
Shaarey Zedek
Terri Smith
The Dewitt Breakfast Lion's Club
Jonathan Berman
Lana & James Shafer
Judge Wanda Stokes
Old Nation Brewing Company
Carrie Larsen
Christine Nelson
The Lansing Board of Water & Light is more than just a utility company, and we truly live our tagline of Hometown People, Hometown Power. We’re dedicated to giving back to the customers we serve, and we’re proud to stand with EVE. It’s our hope the improvements made at the shelter are the first steps toward recovery for all survivors who walk through its doors.
- BWL General Manager Dick Peffley
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