St. Cloud-based Anna Marie's Alliance, a non-profit organization serving survivors of domestic violence, is hoping the color purple can shed light on the reality of domestic violence throughout the communities they serve and Minnesota as a whole.
October was designated as National Domestic Violence Awareness month in 1989 as a way to acknowledge survivors, advocate for victims, and highlight available programs and resources.
"October being Domestic Violence Awareness Month, it's the time that we can showcase what our community can do and what we can do to remember those who have lost their lives, survivors who have gone through domestic violence, and to provide hope to those who are living in abuse," said Lori Eich, Director of Development and Communications at Anna Marie's Alliance. "October being a time where we can showcase our support to all the people."
Anna Marie's Alliance is a 36-bed emergency shelter and has been around since 1978. It provided shelter and safety to more than 157 adults and 81 children in 2023.
"The mission is really to provide education and advocacy to those impacted by domestic violence. We do that through our emergency shelter, our community advocacy programs, our supervised visitation programming, and our prevention education services that are being out there in the community," said Charles Hempeck, Executive Director. "We try to do that in lots of different ways to provide services across central Minnesota and to families impacted by domestic violence."
According to Violence Free Minnesota, there were 827 intimate partner homicides between 1989 and 2023. Those numbers include intimate partners, friends, families, and bystanders/intervenors.
In 2023, there were 29 victims of of those intimate partner homicide. 16 of which were victims of gun violence.
Hempeck says violence shelters and programs saw varied demand throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Some areas saw an uptick, some saw a decline, and some stayed the same. Our numbers stayed the same during that time. We did have some feedback that it was more difficult for some people to reach out because they were spending more time with the person that was causing them harm. It did take some different strategies to get them to a place that was safe."
Stacey Kloeck, program director at Anna Marie's Alliance, says they see success through their person-centered, client-driven, and trauma-informed approach.
"We're walking alongside the survivor to be able to help provide those supports they deem necessary for their own safety and moving forward," added Kloeck. "If they're coming into shelter, when they arrive, we conduct case management meetings to identify what supports they have, what they need, and their goals for their 45 day stay."
Along with raising awareness, the Light Up Purple initiative underway throughout October also aims to destigmatize domestic violence.
"At the forefront really is just the barrier of stigma," Kloeck said. "Identifying that someone is in an abusive situation and increasing that awareness about domestic violence and intimate partner violence in general so people can recognize when they might be in situations that might be progressing and causing further harm to themselves and their families."
Hempeck says Anna Marie's Alliance is one of the larger emergency shelters as they cover a five-county area, with the ability to take-in people from all over the state. A partnership with the Minnesota Day One program helps allocated bed space in a nearby facility.
"We are primarily full, but it always depends on the make-up of families that come in," Hempeck said. "We're licensed up to 36 beds and depending on how the rooms are situated, we mat not be be at 36, we might be at 33."
The number of individuals treated in 2023 were lower.
"The reason is that people are spending longer in the shelter," added Hempeck. "Our approach has changed to have more deeper relationships while they're here to make sure their needs are met versus the higher volume of people."
Anna Marie's Alliance launched a fundraising campaign in 2017 called the Building Hope Campaign. The final phase of the project has a $3.25 million goal as the shelter looks to expand with new housing spaces for residents and remodel current rooms.
The hope for October, is for people who spot the purple lights to recognize the reality of domestic violence that impacts every community.
"If it is something you want to raise awareness about, find ways to do that within your own community and share that within your community, " Eich said. "How cool would it be to go into a community and seen an entire street lit up purple, just all in alliance with each other? Understand the resources that are in your communities and if you see something, say something."