MARQUETTE -- It's a place where abused women and children have sought safety for almost 40 years, the Marquette Women's Center and Harbor House. Last year, it took in a total of 227 women and children. But now, the Women's Center is losing funding...and hope.
"We are in a situation where we need the funds now. We have been trying to recover from several things beyond our control so that we can provide the quality program that we want to," said Women's Center Treasurer Patricia Micklow.
The Center has an $800,000 budget. Seventy-five percent of that comes from state and federal grants, but those grants have decreased about 20 percent over the years. The rest of the money mostly comes from donations which, so far, haven't been enough to make up for the shortfall.
Staff say when women come to the shelter, they usually only have the clothes they came in with. The shelter takes care of the rest, which includes food, clothing, and, of course, utility bills for the shelter.
They're getting desperate, looking to the Center's Founding Mothers for help.
"The financial problems were such that they worried about the future of the shelter, so they asked the Founding Mothers to come back to lend a hand again, and that's what we have done. I know that the community will feel as I do. We need to do whatever it takes to keep this shelter open," said Founding Mother Karlyn Rapport.
Marquette County Prosecutor Matt Wiese got wind of the financial crisis and went so far as to write on the Ellen DeGeneres Facebook page, asking for help. So far, he hasn't heard anything back.
"We are pretty desperate at this point. We need to raise about $100,000 by the end of this year to cover those old expenses and be able to carry on," Micklow added.
If you'd like to donate, the address for The Women's Center is:
1310 South Front Street
Marquette Township, MI 49855
Their phone number is: (906) 225-1346
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