Domestic Violence Victims Can Turn Here For Help in Central Minnesota

We’ve all needed a helping hand in the past, whether needing someone to help jump start your car or loan you 20 bucks until payday, knowing who to ask for help is the first step to getting it. 

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Unfortunately, there’s still a need for someone to offer help to those who are in domestic violence situations. We’ve all seen and heard stories where someone hangs onto a situation because it’s easier than trying to leave. 

The fear that person has to live with day in and day out is more than someone should have to shoulder, but the potential repercussions of trying to leave sometimes outweigh them staying in that dangerous situation. 

In Central Minnesota if you or someone you know is in a situation like this, Anna Maries Alliance is here to support them. Lori from the organization stopped by the morning show on 96.7 The River with Dave-O and me last week to talk about what they do.  

Anna Maries Alliance offers “programs, support, intervention, advocacy and education around domestic violence and relationship abuse” according to Lori.  

She says in 2023, there were 37 homicides in Minnesota specifically in relation to domestic violence and relationship abuse. Anna Maries Alliance “really tries to be a safe space and a safe shelter” to those that are going through this situation.  

There are many programs and services that are being offered by Anna Maries Alliance, and they are all listed on their website, annamaries.org. Also on the website is the crisis line and general phone number for anyone who has a need to get help with the situation they find themselves in. 

One of the biggest hurdles victims face is how to get out of their current surroundings, Lori says there are resources available if you need to flee a place where you are in danger.  Their goal is helping victims transition to first a safe place and then a place where they can get the help they need to get back on their feet.  

Anna Maries Alliance offers 36 beds in their emergency shelter and is always in need of supplies for those who come there. Victims sometimes have to leave quickly and are not able to grab some of their personal items which you can donate to the shelter. Lori says, “we need to meet the needs of where they are at when they come to us”. 

There is a capital campaign that has been going on to help raise funds to remodel the emergency shelter and make it a more soothing place for a victim to begin to put the pieces back together.  

If you want to volunteer some of your time, Anna Maries Alliance wants to talk with you as well. 

Hopefully you or those you love don’t need the service and programs offered by Anna Maries Alliance, but it’s comforting to know that they are there if you need them.  

Here is the link to our interview from last week on 96.7 The River.