From the Director

Endurance.  Dedication. Strength. Courage. Persistence.  Each of these words could be used to describe many times in our lives when we needed to push a little harder; to do things that make us uncomfortable; to keep going through adverse times.     During this past week, one of our own made these words part of her mantra to run 341.4 miles from Sault Sainte Marie to Dearborn.  Her mission was to raise awareness for domestic violence and sexual assault survivors. Dani Filipek did just that.  What she also did was bring to the forefront what each survivor is capable of when the goal on the other side is survival. 

Each survivor’s journey is as different as their experiences are from each other.  We know from the Power and Control Wheel that intimate partner violence can take many forms.  It can look like intimidation by looks, actions, or gestures, such as destroying property, abusing pets, or displaying weapons.  Emotional abuse could appear as put downs, name-calling, humiliation, or feelings of guilt.  Sometimes victims are isolated from their families and friends.  The abuser controls who they talk to and what they say, what they read, attending functions, and using jealousy to justify actions.

Types of Abuse

When an abuser uses minimization, denying or blaming, this can put the victim in a position of wonder whether or not it even occurred.  This is also sometimes called “gaslighting.”  The abuser will make light of the abuse or deny that it even happened or they will shift the responsibility for abusive behavior.  They will say the victim caused the behavior from the abuser.

When children are in the family, the abuse can take the structure of pitting the kids against the victim, using the children to relay messages to the victim, or threatening to have the children taken away from them.  While the abuser may think that they are only affecting the victim, we know that the children who grow up in this type of environment are also victims of abuse.  Secondary trauma can and should be treated in those who witness the victimization on a regular basis. 

Economic abuse is sometimes the last thing victims think of as abuse but it is definitely abuse.  If the abuser controls the finances, how the money is spent, obtaining credit in the victim’s name and not paying on it to ruin her credit, or not allowing the victim to work outside the home can be a mitigating factor as to why some victims feel like they can’t leave.  If they are trying to flee with children, the victims may be worried about how they can care for their children and worry about them being removed from her care. 

Threats and coercion are tools of the abuser that keeps the victim feeling helpless that they can get out of their situation.  The abuser may make threats of harm to the victim or to themselves.  They may threaten to call Child Protective Services.  They threaten the victim to drop the charges against them or to get a Personal Protection Order lifted.  They may threaten suicide if the victim leaves them. 

All of these things are red flags and insights into an abusive relationship.  If you hear about a victim in court asking to get the PPO lifted so she can have contact with her abuser, it may not be about wanting the contact.  It may be because he is threatening harm to her or someone/something she loves.  It takes courage, strength, endurance, persistence, and dedication to themselves to live in an abusive relationship and to leave an abusive relationship.  It’s not just about physical violence.  It doesn’t start overnight.  For those doing this front line work, thank you for the patience that you exhibit while working with the survivors.  For those who support our work, thanks will never be enough.  We are humbled by your support.  

– Executive Director, Betsy Huggett

From the Director

I am pretty excited for this year we are in!  It’s our 40th Anniversary of the Diane Peppler Resource Center!  There are some pretty exciting things planned for this year, such as our 40th Anniversary Gala on September 21st.  It will be 18 months in the making. Be looking for tickets to go on sale at the Kewadin Box Office here in the Sault.  Mark your calendar and we hope to see you there. 

So how did we make it for 40 years in this business?  How did we even get started?  Who is responsible for making this agency’s philosophy and mission a success?  I can tell you the list is long.  The people, like Liz Foley and Diane Peppler, who had the vision and the tenacity to not give up on being able to provide safety for the victims of domestic violence were the ring leaders.  Doreen Howson and Kathy Smithers put in the blood, sweat, and tears for 3 decades of service!  The funders through the now known Division of Victim Services (formerly Michigan Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention and Treatment Board-MDSVPTB) have been immeasurably supportive in engaging our agency and offering the guidelines for successful management of programs. Without all of these pioneers, we would not be here today. 

In 1994, Congress passed the Violence Against Women Act and along with it came the necessary long term funding streams that are still available today.  It has mainly passed on its own merit as it comes up for renewal.  This past year, 2018, the Violence Against Women Act is sitting dormant due to the government shut down. It expired on December 31, 2018. We are anxiously awaiting an end to the federal government shutdown to see what the next course of action is.

These amazing women championed the cause that many were hiding away in secret, not thinking that anyone cared about their fear, their abuse, their terror, their children…  But someone did care.  In the 1980s, funding was made available through a law enforcement grant.  This funding is what allowed us the opportunity to open a home that supported homeless survivors of domestic violence.  We couldn’t be where we are today without their involvement. 

Through it all, we remain steadfast in our belief of victims, in our support of their pain, and in always following our motto, “Our Door is always Open!”  We may need some help in doing just that.  In the meantime, we will keep helping these clients, one day at a time, for the next 40+ years…

From the Director

We are in the heat of the summer and I hope we are all enjoying it. It’s hard to imagine that a few short weeks ago, we were having our 4th winter of the year. July brings so many wonderful things for us in the UP. There are those long-awaited summer vacations, sitting around campfires, marveling at the beauty that is Pure Michigan. The biggest holiday is the 4th of July, or more famously known as Independence Day.

What does it mean to be independent? From the birth of our country, it meant to be free of tyrannical oppression, free to practice any religion of choice without persecution, and free to pursue happiness. For our client population, independence has a very basic meaning: freedom to live without fear. For every client, this freedom has been extremely costly. The ability to live one’s life without worrying about being controlled or assaulted seems like a dream to our clients. Sometimes the cost is more than they can pay. They pay with their homes, children, and sometimes their own lives.

This month, an amazing group called the Grey Dragons Motorcycle Association, a group of retired Department of Corrections employees, will be hosting their annual “Mary’s Dream-Living Without Fear” motorcycle ride. It is a fundraising event in honor of Mary Anderson-Babb who paid the ultimate sacrifice with her life. She did everything right. She called the police. She filed personal protection orders. She used a safety plan. The day her estranged spouse decided to end her life, all of her planning was for naught.

Shel Fox of the Grey Dragons, with the help of so many volunteers and amazing riders, plans and carries out these events all over the state. They then donate all of the money raised to support several domestic violence organizations across Michigan. We are one of the lucky recipients. Each year, they have made a generous donation to our organization to help us help our clients.

This year, on July 14th, the ride will begin with registration at 9:00am at 109 Newberry Ave., Newberry, MI. All motorcycle riders are welcome to come. There will be great food, awesome prizes (did someone say Lions/Packers tickets for December 30th?), and a chance to ride with a great group through some of the most beautiful countryside. At the end of the day, you can know that all you did and experienced went to help victims of domestic violence escape fear and live with peace and independence. I hope you will consider attending this event. You will not be sorry.

– Betsy Huggett, Executive Director

Check out Shel Fox talk about Mary’s Dream Ride and read the rest of our July Newsletter Here:

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From the Director

March is National Women’s History Month. I believe I was born a strong, independent woman and I can only say “I’m sorry” so many times to my mama, another strong woman, who raised me this way. I might be the reason for the gray hairs. We get 31 days to learn about all of the amazing women, like my mother and grandmother, who came before us and paved the way for the work we do today in the movement of domestic violence and sexual assault. 2017 saw such a large increase in the numbers of victims of both domestic violence and sexual assault who are being believed when they report the atrocities committed against them. All I can say is “FINALLY!” , but we have such a long way to go.

It’s not hard to turn on the television, open the newspaper, or log on to social media to see what is going on in the world. But right here in Chippewa, Luce, and Mackinac Counties, we have our own women to thank and be grateful for, for their hard work and sacrifices, and for their commitment to our clients and our communities. These strong women, many of whom will never make the history books, are the backbone of our communities and deserve a parade in their honor.

If I didn’t start with our own namesake, I would be remiss. Diane Peppler was an amazing and dedicated female attorney. In 1977, she moved to Sault Ste. Marie and opened her law office. During the course of doing business and attending community meetings, she and a group of likeminded individuals, knew that the problems of domestic violence in Chippewa County could not go unanswered any longer. They knew women needed a place of safety and support in order to feel safe again. They started by assisting victims with one night stays at the Ojibway Ramada in 1979 until funding could be found. The year 1979 was also the year Diane was joined by her brother, Brian (some of you may know him), as a partner in their law firm. He talked of Diane tirelessly working on finding locations and “dragging” him around to see places. Diane wrote and applied for the articles of incorporation and the 501c3 status and the Domestic Violence Center of the EUP was born. Diane wrote and received the first grant ever for this type of work in Michigan. It was called the LEAA grant, funded by Law Enforcement Assistance Administration. Unfortunately in 1981, Diane was taken in a car accident and the organization was renamed for her amazing spirit. To this day, we hope to honor her with the work we do for our clients.

And of course, no celebration of women in the history of the domestic violence movement would be complete without honoring our very own Doreen Howson. Doreen gave Diane Peppler Resource Center more than 30 years as the executive director, coming on board in 1980. She also engaged in advancing the movement through advocacy on a state level, working with the Michigan Domestic and Sexual Violence Prevention and Treatment Board, now known as the Division of Victim Services. Doreen is always available whenever I need her expertise, an ear, or to have her cheer on our victories. We would not be where we are today without her guidance and presence every day.

It’s because of these pioneers that we have a place where other women can be valued in the workplace, can be supported in their times of strife, and can be strong, independent, and capable. Because of the support we received with our grants, we have our first attorney working for our clients (who happens to be a woman). We are blessed to work with many professional females in the course of our duties, whether they are our peers at the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians Advocacy Resource Center and Bay Mills Indian Community, in law enforcement, at the hospitals, or in the prosecuting attorney’s offices. We have strong women who sit on the benches in our district as magistrates or judges. We have the support of our colleagues at the Women In Business meetings. And we have the strong women who sit on our board of directors: Mindy, Francene, Leanne, Ellen, Erica, Emily, and Jan.

Thank you to all of the strong women in our lives: May we know them, May we be them, May we raise them!

Read the entire newsletter
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