Agency marks year of outstanding work
By KALEY CONNER
Tuesday evening, Northwest Kansas Domestic & Sexual Violence Services Inc. will host its first community event as a way to thank supporters for a year of hard work.
The invitation-only event will be from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Whiskey Creek Wood Fire Grill, 1101 E. 43rd St.
It's been a busy year, with many local businesses donating time and products for a complete interior renovation of the organization's shelter house, said Executive Director Charlotte Linsner.
"We know we live in a fabulous community. We already knew that because of all the years and all the support," Linsner said. "But when you see an idea come to fruition like this... and then people stepping up to the plate and saying, 'Yeah, this is important. Women and children should not have to live with domestic violence.' "
The event will feature several guest speakers, including the organization's board president, Michelle Poumeri of Phillipsburg; a victim of domestic violence; and Hays residents Curt and Christie Brungardt, who lost their daughter, Jana Mackey, to domestic violence last year.
The shelter house's location is confidential, but the home has been needing an update. NKDSVS had been taking the improvements in stride, updating a little bit at a time.
Thanks to community donations, second-hand furniture will be replaced with new and a kitchen will be redesigned.
The shelter also will be home to a resource room, complete with computers, lockers and filing cabinets.
The organization got its start as a grassroots group in 1983. It now serves 18 northwest Kansas counties, with outreach offices in Phillipsburg and Colby. The organization employees 13 people, and is funded primarily by grants and some private donations.
In 2008, NKDSVS helped 576 people, 499 of whom had suffered from domestic violence. The other 77 were victims of sexual assault. A total of 49 individuals spent time in the shelter house last year, and the group answered more than 2,000 victim-related telephone calls.
Due to the sensitive nature of the organization's work, some community members who have been instrumental in the project aren't able to see how much their efforts are appreciated, Linsner said.
"If they could see each one of these individuals and the success that is gained just from the donations... and how completely their life has changed, it would be phenomenal to them," she said. "It does a make a difference in people's lives. It really does."