Philanthropy Today
Philanthropy Today
Crisis Center, Inc on the GMCF Community Hour Show Episode - 247
We share what the Crisis Center does each day to keep survivors safe—from 24/7 advocacy to a confidential shelter now delivering roughly 9,300 bed nights a year—and why outreach, staffing, and community support are crucial. We also unveil the Clothesline Project at Manhattan Town Center and invite help for the holidays through gifts, volunteers, and essentials.
• what our safe shelter and advocacy services include
• the rise from 2,500 to about 9,300 bed nights
• police co-response and why immediate advocacy matters
• barriers survivors face and how outreach meets them
• Domestic Violence Awareness Month and the Clothesline Project
• holiday needs for families in shelter and in the community
• how to help through gifts, volunteering, and essentials
• funding reality across grants, donations, and year-end giving
Please come to the Clothesline Project opening reception Monday, October 20, 5:30–7:30 p.m., at Manhattan Town Center; display runs October 20–24. Visit www.thecriscenterinc.org to volunteer, view in-kind needs, and join our Christmas bureau; our year-end mailing is the one time we ask the community to give if they can.
Philanthropy Today is brought to you by the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation. In this episode, we feature a recently broadcast segment of the GMCF Community Hour, as heard on News Radio KMAN. We are back with the GMCF Community Hour here on News Radio KMAN. Kathy Ray is back. Hello, my friend.
SPEAKER_00:Good morning. How good to be here on a Monday?
SPEAKER_01:On a Monday. It's good to be anywhere on a Monday, bro.
SPEAKER_00:This is true. This is true.
SPEAKER_01:There's a couple places I think I'd rather be, but you know, this is always fun because it gets the week for me. It really gets it started.
SPEAKER_00:Well, and we get to talk about a lot of great things. So it's good to catch up.
SPEAKER_01:We've been we've become really good friends, and it's and and yeah, it's it's neat to see, you know, our individual lives where they go. We always get to catch up.
SPEAKER_00:So absolutely. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Well, Crisis Center. Let's talk a bit about what you do there. Let's just lead it off with that.
SPEAKER_00:Okay. Well, so the Crisis Center, uh, many may not be familiar with us. We provide um advocacy services to victims and survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and their family. So we're most known, I think, for our safe shelter, uh, which serves as a safe haven for victims who are needing to flee abuse and violence in their own home. And so uh we have a safe shelter, a confidential safe shelter where families can stay with us as long as they need while they are safe and while they rebuild their lives after escaping abuse and violence in their own homes. And so we have our safe shelter, but then we have a number of services, everything from support groups, assistance with court, um, help with uh law enforcement. We have police response advocacy program where we co-respond with the Riley County Police Department to every domestic violence call that occurs in Riley County. So we have a number of services that are really just meant to help people who are experiencing abuse and violence in their life to figure out what they want to have happen, what they need to have happen to be safe. And um lots of different things come with that. So our advocates provide that. And we're a 24-hour service agency. And so anytime someone needs us day or night, we're there and ready to respond.
SPEAKER_01:You've had some significant developments in the last couple of years.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, we have. We have grown.
SPEAKER_01:Which unfortunately.
SPEAKER_00:Unfortunately, yes.
SPEAKER_01:But but I mean, you are able to do more because you're responding to the need.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, yes, we are. Um, we are able to do more and respond to the need that is here in Manhattan and Riley County. Um, we've done a lot of work over the last four years. Uh, most notably, we built a brand new safe shelter. Uh, we moved into that in 2022, which gave us more space uh to house more people. Um, that shelter is full almost all the time. Last year we provided about 9,300 bed nights in our safe shelter in 2024. And so um, you know, that's a lot more than what we used to do in our old shelter. So with that comes the need for more advocates uh to serve people and just um better meet people's needs.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Well, you know, with that new location, I know that that was just an answer to a lot of prayers for you guys. And it was. And, you know, it's the unfortunate thing is that you had 9,300 bed nights.
SPEAKER_00:Yes. Yes. That's a lot.
SPEAKER_01:That seems like a lot.
SPEAKER_00:It is a lot. And you know, we do not have a stay limit at our uh safe shelter. So someone can stay with us as long as they need to while they work on their goals. They get to define those goals. And while they work with an advocate on that, um, you know, our average stay right now is about 45 days. So people are it is taking a little bit longer for people to get back on their feet. Um, and if you think about domestic violence and everything that comes with that, there is a lot of economic abuse. There is a lot of um maybe the person wasn't allowed to work. So they don't have a job history, they don't have job skills. So you're really starting from the point at which they need to start to rebuild their life. It's really hard if you're a mother of three and you haven't worked in 10 years, right? You haven't had to figure out how to pay rent, how to, you know, do these day-to-day things on your own as independent. And so it does take time to figure all those different pieces out and get people on the right track so that um, you know, long-term stability is really what we're we're helping people achieve.
SPEAKER_01:Compare 2025 to date with 20. When did you start 2019?
SPEAKER_00:I started uh in October of 2021. Yes.
SPEAKER_01:Compare the number of bed nights that you have now to when you first started.
SPEAKER_00:When I first started, we were doing about 2500 uh 2500 a year. Wow. So a significant increase, yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Do you think that that is largely because you have a larger facility? Or is that because you know, I mean, I'm sure that there's a number of things that come into play with this.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, there are. There are. And that is part of it is having a larger facility, being able to house more people on any given night. Um, we also have more advocates, so we've increased our staffing since I've started. Once we get fully staffed, we've added about 10 full-time positions over the years to do various things. Um, the other thing we're doing more of is outreach. So if people don't know how to find us, you know, that's really a missed opportunity. And people all the time ask, you know, what what do you do at the crisis center? We save lives. That's what we do. And when somebody calls us, if we don't have someone to respond, that is a life, life or death matter, right? And so we've added the advocates to really be able to provide those services to people, but we've also added, like, a community engagement coordinator, for example. We need people to know how to get in touch with us. We need to get our information out there so that when somebody is experiencing isolation, abuse, violence in their relationship, that they know how to reach out for help. Um, people who are victims of domestic violence, it's hard for them to get access to information. Their internet usage may be monitored, their odometer reading on their car may be monitored, you know, um, all of these different things that make it difficult to get them information. So we try a number of different avenues to get our word out, whether that's social media, uh, different community fairs, events, things like that. Um, so we've done a lot more of that as well, which I think also increases the numbers. And people will do ask, you know, is more domestic violence occurring in our community? Um, and I would say, you know, uh it's it's definitely there are different societal factors that make it worse, make the abuse escalate and um make things worse for victims and survivors. And so we we do see more around those times as well.
SPEAKER_01:The month of October is domestic violence awareness month.
SPEAKER_00:Yes.
SPEAKER_01:Sometimes a month is not long enough.
SPEAKER_00:That's true.
SPEAKER_01:Because it is uh it's a 12-month a year. It is, yes, 365 and a quarter. Yeah, 24-7 deal.
SPEAKER_00:Right. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01:You have a project, and I and is this new?
SPEAKER_00:Yes.
SPEAKER_01:The clothesline project. Tell us about this.
SPEAKER_00:Yes. So we are bringing a new survivor art installation um to Manhattan uh for the month of October uh to raise awareness in Domestic Violence Awareness Month. And the Clothesline Project, it was developed in, I believe, the early 90s uh in Massachusetts. And it is a nationwide um awareness initiative now. But the shirts that are in the clothesline project. So the clothesline project is a is an art installation of shirts that are created, designed, developed by victims and survivors, uh, by family members or friends of someone who's maybe lost someone to domestic violence, um, or the community itself can create these shirts that then go into the clothesline project. So the clothesline project, um, you know, for victims and survivors, it really is a tool of healing for them to be able to create this shirt to um say what they want to say about the issue or maybe their own experience. Um, and then these shirts, they literally hang on a clothesline and they raise awareness for the community. Um, they all have different messages. You know, for example, I'm myself and my daughter were creating one for my cousin who was murdered when I was a teenager by her fiance. So we're creating one in memory of her to be added to the clothesline project. And yeah, so it's really intended to create um awareness in the community, but also give a voice to victims and survivors and and can be a powerful tool of healing and to let them know that they're not alone.
SPEAKER_01:Give us some of the details, the where, the when, and yes.
SPEAKER_00:So we are um launching the closed line project. We're having a community reception that's open to the public. Uh, we'll have light refreshments, uh, we'll have different community leaders speaking. And that is gonna be Monday, October 20th. That's at the Manhattan Town Center from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. So we hope that the uh community will come out. Um, and that is the opening reception. And then the actual display will be on and available to the public at the Manhattan Town Center from October 20th through the 24th. So it'll be on display for a week.
SPEAKER_01:Well, it's great that we have an opportunity in a in a nice location to be able to share that.
SPEAKER_00:So they've been very supportive of us uh the Manhattan Town Center, and we've done past events there, uh, displays for Domestic Violence Awareness Month. And so um, this is the first time we're doing the closed line project. We had a shirt making event this last Saturday, and we're starting to get those shirts in. And I know it's gonna be very, very moving and powerful uh for the community to see. So please come out and join us on October 20th at 5 30 p.m. at the mall.
SPEAKER_01:Okay. All right. Let's talk a bit about something that I mean, we are getting into the fourth quarter.
SPEAKER_00:Yes.
SPEAKER_01:The fourth quarter, you know, we think about a lot of different things. You know, there's always, you know, the financial aspects, you know, because you know, that's how we do business. Right. But the fourth quarter is uh, you know, filled with holidays. It is very special holidays. And for some during the holiday season, it ain't so fun.
SPEAKER_00:Right. Yeah, yeah, unfortunately. And, you know, nobody ever wants to find themselves living in a shelter over the holidays at Christmas morning, right? Or at Thanksgiving even. And so, you know, we try to make the holidays extra special for the people that we serve, both in terms of um making it as normal as possible, um, celebrating holidays if they choose, if that's part of their traditions. Um, but it really does take a whole community to make that happen. And so, you know, being that the holidays are a time of giving, we do, this is the time of year where we do ask for that extra support from our community in whatever ways that they can support uh victims and survivors through the holidays. You know, if if someone's in our shelter, you know, we've we've got to provide Christmas, basically. Um, we've got to provide the Thanksgiving meal, all of those different things that come with that. But we also have a lot of people that in our community who aren't in our shelter that we're serving, but also need that assistance. Um, that maybe they're still living in the home where the abuse is occurring, maybe they're still living with an abusive partner, and um to navigate that with their children is difficult. It is, it is difficult. And um, people usually have time off for the holidays. So they're spending more time together around the abusive person. And it's there's a lot that goes into that. And so we do uh try to do a lot at the crisis center to make this a normal time for people and and engage our community to help us do that.
SPEAKER_01:How can people help with that?
SPEAKER_00:Well, there are a number of ways. Um each year we have a Christmas bureau where um we solicit gifts and items for the people that we serve to for the actual presents that they're gonna use on Christmas. Um so people can contact us to get involved in our Christmas bureau. We have um we need volunteers. We're always in need of volunteers, whether that be at the safe shelter. Uh, we have a group that comes and decorates the shelter for Christmas. Um that's those kinds of things are what tells victims and survivors that they're not alone, that our community is here to support them. When they see those volunteers at our shelter, um, when they see that people care enough to come decorate, you know, to make it feel as normal as possible, those send a message of healing to the people that are receiving that. And so volunteers are always needed. And on our website, um, www.thecriscenterinc.org, um, there's a number of volunteer opportunities, and we'll be adding to that as we get into more into the holiday season. We also have an in-kind donation page on our website. So I always tell people imagine what it's like to have a house of 40 people. How much toilet paper would you go through? How much laundry detergent would you go through? That's though, that's basically what we need. Um, when we say our services are free, that's down to the basic necessities: food, deodorant, laundry detergent, all of those things that you need uh day to day, we also provide that. And we really rely on our community. So October Domestic Violence Awareness Month is a great time to do donation drives for the crisis center. So if anybody's part of a group or a club, um, you know, we've we've sort of noticed a decrease of our our in-kind donations. And I think things like the economy and you know, challenges that people are everybody's facing.
SPEAKER_01:There are a lot of organizations out there that are in need of money.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, money.
SPEAKER_01:And it is all right. It's very competitive.
SPEAKER_00:Absolutely. Absolutely. Unfortunately. Yeah. And so, you know, there's a lot of ways to get involved. We do a holiday mailing at the end of the year. That's uh the one time where we ask our community to give if they can in terms of uh giving money, because, you know, it's a certain percentage of our budget is reliant on donations. We are grant funded, both state and federal grant funded, um, but that's not our whole budget, right? So we have an annual budget of about 2.6 million between our whole service area, including our safe shelter and what that takes to operate. Um, you know, we have three locations and about 40 staff. So it's it's a bigger operation than I think what people realize because it happens behind the scenes. It's intended to happen behind the scenes. It's intended to be confidential for people's safety. Um, but yeah, but there's a lot of ways people can get involved in the holidays.
SPEAKER_01:Her name is Kathy Ray. She's the executive director of the Crisis Center, the CrisisCenter Inc.org, is where you can find out more. Always a delight to have you in.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you so much, David. Good luck with your event and uh looking forward to I'll try to drop.
SPEAKER_01:We'll be back with uh Jaina Yukurzenko coming in next to give us an idea on some things that are happening in the community here on the GMCF Community Hour here on News Radio K M A N.