RESOURCES:
SafeHouse Center 50th Anniversary Evening Celebration
TRANSCRIPTION:
Caroline MacGregor: You're listening to 89.1 WEMU. I'm Caroline MacGregor. And today, I am talking with Christine Watson. She is the executive director of the SafeHouse Center. You are celebrating 50 years in existence here in Washtenaw County. This is a big milestone for your organization!
Christine Watson: Yes, it is, Caroline! Thank you so much! We are proud to have been created by the community 50 years ago. And today, we stand here very proud continuing to serve our community and making sure that survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault have a safe space that they can turn to when they need it most.
Caroline MacGregor: Tell me a little bit about, and we'll discuss this also later in our interview, but the anniversary. You have a matching challenge of, I believe, $50,000. Tell me about the anniversary celebration coming up. I believe it's on October 7th.
Christine Watson: That is correct. So, we are hosting a fundraising event on October 7th. And one of our long-time supporters recently stepped up, Ruthanne Nichols, and shared with us that she is giving us a match gift of $50,000. So, any money raised right now will go twice as far, due to her generosity.
Caroline MacGregor: That's fantastic! And I know we've had you on our radio station a couple of times. But just for our listeners and those new to the area, touch a little bit, if you would, on the history and the mission of the SafeHouse Center.
Christine Watson: So, 50 years ago, some very brave and visionary community members recognized that there was a need in our community for how we supported survivors of domestic violence. They came together and they established what is now known today as SafeHouse Center. And we continue to provide supportive services to survivors of intimate partner violence and survivors of sexual assault and their children. We have a 24-hour shelter, a helpline, we do counseling, support groups, legal assistance, pretty much anything that somebody would need as they're trying to figure out next steps.
Caroline MacGregor: And with regards to some of those areas that you just touched on – individual crisis support, housing assistance, community education and outreach, among other services that you offer – I'd like to delve in a little bit more to the emergency shelter. Do you have the same facility that you've always had or has that grown? Tell me a little about how it looks today.
Christine Watson: So, when we started in the '70s, it was somebody's couch. That's what's the most amazing thing about Washtenaw County. This community really knows how to show up for people. And so, in the '70s, they opened up their homes and their couches for anybody who needed it. And then, in '78, we were fortunate enough to be gifted a building out in Milan, and that became our first physical shelter. And we were in operations in that facility up until the early '90s when we were also then again gifted a building by the residents of Washtenaw County, who accepted a millage for us to build a new building specifically for survivors of domestic violence. And so this community has just again and again stepped up in ways that have been beyond what anybody could imagine.
Caroline MacGregor: Do you work at all with community mental health or are they with regard to some of the cases you see?
Christine Watson: So we work with a lot of different community service providers because we recognize that our expertise only extends so far. So we enjoy relationships with housing providers, with the medical professionals, with community mental health, as you mentioned, as well as other supportive services to ensure that when survivors show up in our facility or through our doors, that all of their needs are met, if not by us, then by somebody that we can refer them to.
Caroline MacGregor: And to touch on the reason you are in existence, sexual assault, intimate partner violence, which, of course, affects children too. What are the statistics currently? Are you seeing an increase, a decrease, or holding steady in numbers of women that you're helping?
Christine Watson: I think, over the 50 years, we've definitely seen an increase. I don't know if that's necessarily because there's more violence happening or if it's simply because people are coming forward more. I think we have made it more accessible for people to come forward and seek help in these situations. I think that we've been able to break down a lot of the stigmas that used to be present. Domestic violence and sexual assault were quite often seen as family matters, private matters, that shouldn't be spoken about in the community. I think what we've been able to achieve, we've changed that narrative. Here we are, having this conversation, we're making sure that survivors know that they're not alone. But statistically speaking, one in three women will experience some type of physical or sexual violence in their lifetime, and one in nine men. That's a lot of survivors who walk amongst us in our community every single day. And I'm proud and pleased that we continue to be here to be a safe place where they can seek support.
Caroline MacGregor: If you're just joining us, my guest today is Christine Watson. She is the executive director of the SafeHouse Center, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a special evening celebration on Wednesday, October 7th at the Washtenaw Community College. And this celebration is marking five decades of advocacy, support and social change for survivors of sexual and intimate partner violence right here in Washtenaw County. That's an extraordinarily high number. And I have heard that before, one in three women, one in nine men, but one in 3 women to have been physically or sexually assaulted, it seems unacceptable. It's quite extraordinary in today's society, and one of the big hallmarks of a civilized society is the way it treats its women and children and animals. So, again, this is just shocking that these numbers are still so high, but you continue to do a wonderful job here.
Christine Watson: I would agree. I think it is unacceptable. And I think we should call it for what it is. I think we are fortunate to live in a community that provides resources, invests in those resources to ensure that when that happens, people have a place to turn to. But I think that we should also talk about what are we doing to prevent it in the first place. When people came together 50 years ago, I think there was an aspiration that we would be eradicating domestic violence and sexual assault within our community. I think we continue to aspire to that, but I'm more proud of the fact that we continue to be here to really support the people who are impacted by the violence that does continue to exist in our community.
Caroline MacGregor: Some of these survivors, do some of those survivors eventually help with educating others as part of their journey of healing?
Christine Watson: I think survivors are interwoven with our services and our education outreach in many different ways. But yes, they do. We have survivors who join us as staff, as volunteers, as community educators, as community awareness partners. I always love being out in the community and telling people who I am, where I work, and listening to people share their stories of how they've been connected with us, either through our services or maybe because they used to intern with us or were a volunteer. I meet people who remember when we opened our new shelter in the '90s. They came in. They would help us paint a bedroom. There's a lot of community connections as it relates to SafeHouse, and I'm really glad that we continue to see that today.
Caroline MacGregor: The community, as you mentioned earlier, is just key and, obviously, a huge strength of Washtenaw County. Let's just touch on quickly the children impacted, because this is an area that's just, I mean, for everybody impacted, it's heart-wrenching. But for children, what are you seeing as far as overcoming what they have seen and their futures as far as improving things or at least helping them get beyond what they've experienced, the trauma that they may have gone through?
Christine Watson: I think it's important to recognize domestic violence that are happening within a family as a family issue. It impacts everybody, not just the person who is being physically or emotionally abused, but also the people around them. And so, what we try at SafeHouse, when people come into our programs, is we want to also make sure that the children are receiving the necessary referrals and resources that they're in need of. One of my favorite rooms at SafeHouse is our play area. We have this amazing playroom full of toys, full of, I would like to think, whatever a child would desire to play with or just to be involved with. And I think it's so important that we can establish and create a space where they can be allowed just to see that there is normality that can be found as they're trying to figure out their next steps as a family. That is a room that I'm always, always excited to see being full of life and full of people.
Caroline MacGregor: If you're just joining us, my guest today is Christine Watson. She is the executive director of the SafeHouse Center in Washtenaw County. And they are celebrating 50 years of advocacy, support and social change, and, obviously, investing in the future. Now, just to wrap up here, the celebration takes place on Wednesday, October 7th, and it's at the Washtenaw Community College.
Christine Watson: That is correct. And we invite our community to once again show up and be part of our celebration. We are going to be honoring some specific people in our community who have been a big part of of our creation and of establishing the mission that we carry forth today. But it's also an opportunity for us to reflect and invite new people in to get to know about us and the people that we serve. So, we would love to see people show up, give their support, and, again, we want to say a big thank you to our longtime supporter, Ruthann Nichols, who has afforded this amazing opportunity of a $50,000 gift match, meaning that whatever you give us has doubled the impact. So we cannot thank her enough, and we cannot thank the community enough for their continued support.
Caroline MacGregor: Such a great incentive for the community! So, Ruthann Nichols, her commitment has basically created this special 50th anniversary matching challenge that will, of course, match community donations dollar for dollar, up to $50,000. A half-century of standing with survivors. This organization clearly has such an important role in the community, Christine, thank you so much for joining us today!
Christine Watson: Thank you!
Caroline MacGregor: This is 89.1 WEMU-FM Ypsilanti.
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