OUR STORY

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In 2015....

The Capital Area Survivor Speakers Bureau was created to raise awareness and educate our community on how to stop the violence against women, men and children.

To begin amplifying the voices of survivors in our capital city, (Lansing, MI) Shari Murgittroyd and the Capital Area Domestic & Sexual Violence Coordinating Council (members of various violence prevention and survivor advocacy agencies) decided to collaborate with local survivors to form the Capital Area Survivor Speakers Bureau because we know:

While many people are aware of abuse like: domestic/ intimate partner violence, rape/sexual assault, human trafficking, elder abuse and/or vicarious/complex trauma , most have not heard a survivor's story directly from them.
We have witnessed how the voice of one survivor creates lasting ripples of positive transformation in the hearts, minds and actions of not only others, but themself.
As we watch survivors become change agents and inspire activism in others -- by using their personal lived experiences to educate the community on power and control dynamics, violence prevention and bystander intervention -- we are further encouraged to keep doing the work alongside them.
We aim to leave a longstanding legacy that promotes the collective healing of our community so that we may all transition from surviving to thriving in every area of our lives.

Our intention through the Capital Area Survivor Speakers Bureau is to continue providing ongoing support to survivors, on an individual level, to collectively create global change until the public health crisis we know as perpetrated violence is eradicated.

To see why this movement is important, how our survivors are effecting change and ways to get involved check out more info below!

Frequently Asked Questions, Myths + Misconceptions:

Is there really a need for this work in Lansing/Michigan?

There aren't that many violent crimes committed in our city are there?

I don't see it happening in my neighborhood so why should I get involved?

To this we say, IN THE LAST TWO YEARS ALONE...

In Ingham county the average reported rapes per 1000 people is nearly twice the national average.

Sources:

https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2017/crime-in-the-u.s.-2017

http://www.micrstats.state.mi.us/MICR/Reports/Report01.aspx

There were 48,264 victims of domestic violence in Michigan (2018) resulting in 5 fatalities in Ingham county alone.

Source: https://www.michigan.gov/documents/msp/l_Domestic_Violence_661305_7.pdf