MSU Safe Place is celebrating 20 years of providing supportive services to domestic violence and stalking survivors in the MSU and Greater Lansing communities.
The MSU Safe Place 20th Anniversary Celebration will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. Oct. 15 at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center's Lincoln Room.
Special guests at this event include MSU President Lou Anna Simon, Denise Maybank, vice president of Student Affairs and Services and Anne Menard, CEO of the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence.
MSU Safe Place is located on the campus of MSU. The program has a mission to provide shelter, advocacy, support and counseling services for victims of domestic violence and stalking while seeking to end domestic violence through public awareness and community education. All services are free and confidential.
MSU Safe Place began offering services at MSU through the Department of Residence Life. This program was started because of community organizing efforts of Joanne McPherson, the First Lady of MSU from 1993 to 2004.
MSU Safe Place was the first domestic violence shelter and support program on a college campus in the United States; the program offers emergency shelter and/or supportive services annually to approximately 70-100 adults and children. In addition, MSU Safe Place annually provides training and education to over 15,000 people on campus and in the Lansing community.
Holly Rosen, MSU Safe Place director, has been with the program since its inception.
“Providing support services to survivors of domestic violence and stalking is vital to those affected by violence in our community. We’ve seen firsthand the impact that support can have for those working to escape the violence in their lives,” Rosen said.
The 20th Anniversary Celebration is free and open to the public. Any donations received from this event will support the ever increasing need for advocacy and support on behalf of MSU Safe Place clients.