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Last updated on November 9, 2007

SIREN/Eaton Shelter, Inc. promotes the elimination of domestic violence and homelessness by providing temporary housing, support, advocacy, education, and information to the community.

Description:
Promoting the safety, confidentiality and autonomy of domestic violence survivors and homeless families will be the primary tenet driving the services provided by SIREN/Eaton Shelter.

In order to accomplish this, SIREN/Eaton Shelter commits to the following:

· Treating everyone who seeks services with dignity and respect. This attitude is to be reflected in all agency policies, procedures, and personal interactions.
· Providing programs that are client-driven, family-centered and respectful of lifestyle, gender-identity, and cultural differences.
· Providing every client with information and education about the dynamics of domestic violence and resources in the community in order to facilitate their making an informed choice about their options.
· Providing the support and advocacy necessary to help people access needed services.
· Seeking opportunities to raise public awareness about homelessness and domestic violence in the community.
· Supporting efforts to hold batterers accountable and promote empowerment for survivors.
· Working for systems change and long-range solutions to the serious social problems of family violence and homelessness.

Siren/Eaton Shelter provides the following services to domestic violence survivors:

·24-hour domestic violence crisis line
·Emergency shelter and transitional housing
·Supportive counseling for residents and non-residents
·Weekly support/education groups for adults and children who have experienced violence

Siren also offers the following services to both domestic violence survivors and homeless families:

·Emergency shelter and transitional housing
·Case management and referral to needed resources
·Life skills instruction
·Food, clothing, furniture, and household item bank

History:
SIREN, Inc. was founded in 1994 by a group of Eaton County residents who felt there was a need for a local program to provide shelter and services to domestic violence survivors. The impetus for the formation of the organization was the death of Mindy Reed, a 17-year old Olivet resident who was shot and killed by her abusive boyfriend. Mindy's family felt that the tragedy might have been avoided if there had been a local resource to help Mindy deal with the abuse.

SIREN functioned as an all-volunteer organization from 1994-1996. Volunteers manned a 24-hour hotline, held weekly support groups facilitated by an MSW who is herself a survivor, and transported survivors to shelters in other counties when necessary.

In 1997, SIREN merged with the Eaton Shelter Program, an organization which had been providing shelter and support services to homeless individuals and families since 1988. The name of the organization was then changed to SIREN/Eaton Shelter, Inc. (SIREN). The Eaton Shelter brought to the merger an existing contract with the Michigan Family Independence Agency/Salvation Army Partnership for per-diem reimbursement to the merger. This contract, coupled with $30,000 which the Eaton County United Way had raised for the shelter through a public appeal, formed the basis of the agency's budget the first year.

The merger with Eaton Shelter enabled SIREN to begin offering shelter to domestic violence survivors for the first time, utilizing a five-bedroom home leased from a local church. The predominately rural character of Eaton County made it cost effective to serve both homeless families and domestic violence survivors under the umbrella of one organization. The community has seen it as a cost-effective approach, and our organization has enjoyed steadily increasing financial support each year since 1997. In 2002, approximately $125,000 in private donation was received to support the work of SIREN/Eaton Shelter.

At the time of the merger, the SIREN/Eaton Shelter staff received basic training in the dynamics of domestic violence through a contractual arrangement with the RAVE shelter in Clinton County. With most of the agency funding being used for direct services, very few dollars were available for training. A SIREN staff member made weekly trips to the Domestic Violence Resource Library, then under the umbrella of the Michigan Domestic Violence Prevention and Treatment Board, to bring back tapes and written information which the small staff used to "self-educate" during weekly staff meetings.

In 1997, the SIREN Board of Directors and staff set a goal of developing a transitional housing program to complement the emergency shelter services being provided. The work done with survivors had made it clear that many needed more than 30-90 days of shelter to rebuild their lives.

In early 1998, SIREN was awarded a contract from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Supportive Housing Program (HUD-SHP) to develop four single-family, scattered -site units of transitional housing. In early 1999, SIREN was also awarded HUD-SHP funds to develop a 12-bed group transitional living facility for women and children in need of more support and structure than the scattered-sites provided. From the beginning, approximately half of the applicants for the available transitional housing units were domestic violence survivors and their children.

In 1999, SIREN applied for and received a grant from the MDVPTB to add three units of transitional housing specifically for domestic violence survivors. The program was successfully implemented in May 2000, and the three units of transitional housing have been continuously occupied since the program began. The demand for transitional housing by survivors has led to SIREN securing a third HUD grant to add an additional scattered sites as of the Fall of 2003.

Contact people:

Janet Wilcox, Project Manager/Volunteer Coordinator, (phone), (email) Linda Nichols, Administrative Assistant, (phone), (email) Nancy Oliver, Director, (phone), (email)

Office fax number: (517) 543-0883

Address:

PO Box 369 Charlotte, MI 48813

Web Site: http://www.sireneatonshelter.org/

Directions:

This is our mailing address. Our physical address is 245 South Cochran Road, Charlotte, MI, 48813. Please use mapquest or call for directions.

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