Happy New Year and happy New Decade. It is amazing to reflect back on all that has happened in the past decade. We have expanded services both through court advocacy and our transitional housing shelter—a brand new shelter that was built during this past decade. This has allowed us to serve more clients who need safe, secure shelter and need our services at the courthouse. We’ve also greatly expanded our outreach and are working throughout our school system to try to help our young folks understand the difference between healthy and unhealthy relationships. And finally, one other point of great excitement is the fact that we have grown our endowment to almost two million dollars. This will help our sustainable funding far into the future.
So what do we have to look forward to in this next decade? We need to continue to ensure our community knows that we are here for them. We want to encourage everyone to learn about the services we offer, to learn about the signs, and to be partners with us in changing the way that we address these issues. There’s human trafficking, sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse—all of these issues do not belong in our community. We urge you to learn about what you can do and how you can help make a change, so that everyone can thrive in a safe and healthy relationship. Thank you.