8 minute read
NONPROFIT
ENDING VIOLENT ENCOUNTERS
EVE HELPS SURVIVORS UNDERSTAND THEY ARE IN CONTROL
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BY MARY GAJDA
Empowering those whose power was stolen is the foundation of the work of Sam Stiles.
As an assault survivor herself, Stiles finds immense purpose in her role as the community outreach coordinator for End Violent Encounters. Based in Lansing, EVE provides supportive services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual violence, stalking and elder abuse. Stiles is grateful to have the opportunity to educate the community and help end the stigma survivors often face. She is also determined to set the record straight.
“Something that we’ve been trying to do in the outreach department is to clear up misinformation and harmful myths surrounding domestic and sexual violence that we hear in the community, because that only makes it harder for survivors to come forward,” Stiles said.
COVID-19 has affected the related statistics.
“We anticipated a spike in domestic violence cases because, unfortunately, that often happens during natural disasters,” Stiles said. “We not only saw a spike in the number of domestic violence and sexual assault incidents but also a marked increase in the severity of injuries from this violence.”
Stiles explained that a healthy relationship doesn’t turn violent simply because of pandemics, stress, economic strain, drug use or any other reason.
“Abuse is about power and control,” Stiles said. “So, an already abusive situation can become worse if the abuser suddenly has more access to the survivor or if the survivor becomes isolated from friends, family and other support systems that previously offered them some measure of protection.”
Even with a stay-at-home order, the number of sexual assaults has risen sharply. Every 98 seconds, someone in America is sexually assaulted, but only five out of every 1,000 perpetrators will end up in prison. Stiles said that DNA evidence can drastically increase the likelihood that a perpetrator will be held accountable.
“We are fortunate to have forensic nurse examiners on staff at Sparrow Hospital to give survivors the option of an exam after an assault,” Stiles said. “And EVE’s medical advocacy program provides trained advocates to meet survivors at the hospital and stay with them while they take next steps.”
EVE is participating for the first time in the Rally to Empower Survivors, held April 24 at Sparrow Hospital with coronavirus-related guidelines in place. It’s an opportunity for the Lansing community, and all the organizations that support survivors, to come together and publicly proclaim that Lansing believes and stands with survivors.
“The important thing for survivors of sexual assault to know is that they are in control,” Stiles said.
EVE’s 24-hour crisis line is (517) 372-5572. There is also a secure 24-hour secured chat line at eveinc.org/24-hourhotline.
SHOWING UP
IN WORK AND LIFE, EAST LANSING COUNCILWOMAN SEEKS POSITIVE CHANGE
BY CHRISTOPHER NAGY PHOTOS BY MELIK BROWN
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Perhaps in large part due to the creeping ooze of social media seeping into every corner of life, it’s easier than ever to be an armchair activist or pastime pundit and lob barbs of criticism from the comfort and safety of a bubble floating in the ether of anonymity. East Lansing City Councilwoman Jessy Gregg strives for positive change in her community and personal life. For others, however, that’s not quite good enough. For them, it’s much more important to physically be in the mix, take an active role in the dialogue and be a driving force of positive change. In her work life as well her personal life, Jessy Gregg falls firmly into the latter camp. The East Lansing resident understands that the most crucial act that can be taken to achieve goals is simply being present. It’s what led her to start her own business, run a successful campaign for public office and found a fitness support network. “I do a lot of panel-type discussions for young groups … and I always say the first step is showing up. And perhaps the most important step is showing up,” she said. “Once you do that, you’re halfway there. People tend to listen to the voices that are in the room with them, so if you want to have a voice in your government, if you want to have a voice in your community, you need to get in the room. There’s no one preventing you from doing that. All you have to do is show up. That’s always been part of my personality. I like to be the person in the room.” This month marks the two-year anniversary of Gregg’s venture into entrepreneurship. Having nurtured an interest in costume and clothing design in high school, Gregg gravitated back into fiber arts after college, creating quilted wall art for local galleries and street festivals before opening Seams Fabric on Grove Street in East Lansing in 2019. “The story of the store is partially circumstance and partially passion. Passionate circumstances,” she explained. “I’m located next door to another textile art store called Woven Art. They have been in downtown East Lansing for about 16 years now. It’s on its second owner. I started working there as a sales clerk before I had kids. I’m friends with the previous owner, and the current owner and I used to be co-workers there. When this space next door to her space opened up, it seemed like an unmissable opportunity to create a kind of incubator for woven art. We refer to ourselves as the East Lansing Textile District.”
The same year she started Seams Fabric, Gregg took a second, perhaps even larger, step that expanded her community involvement, launching a campaign to run for the East Lansing City Council. Gregg said part of the decision to seek public office came through the encouragement and backing of outgoing Councilwoman Shanna Draheim; however, she also viewed the run as an opportunity to raise an underrepresented voice.
“I think East Lansing is in an interesting period of economic development, and having someone in small business on the City Council — especially a creative industries small-business owner — I think is a unique niche,” Gregg said. “Small retail is pretty dicey right now. When people talk about having pride in the towns they grew up in, they’re usually not talking about the chain stores. They’re usually talking about the small businesses that have that individual personality attached to them.”
I THINK EAST LANSING IS IN AN INTERESTING PERIOD OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND HAVING SOMEONE IN SMALL BUSINESS ON THE CITY COUNCIL — ESPECIALLY A CREATIVE INDUSTRIES SMALLBUSINESS OWNER — I THINK IS A UNIQUE NICHE. SMALL RETAIL IS PRETTY DICEY RIGHT NOW. WHEN PEOPLE TALK ABOUT HAVING PRIDE IN THE TOWNS THEY GREW UP IN, THEY’RE USUALLY NOT TALKING ABOUT THE CHAIN STORES. THEY’RE USUALLY TALKING ABOUT THE SMALL BUSINESSES THAT HAVE THAT INDIVIDUAL PERSONALITY ATTACHED TO THEM.”
Gregg was elected in November 2019 and named as mayor pro tem last September. Much of her time on the council has been addressing the social and economic challenges facing the city from the coronavirus pandemic, but Gregg said she approaches her public work listening to her conscience and understanding that her motives are pure in every one of the votes she casts.
“As long as I can look myself in the mirror and say, ‘You are doing the right thing from where you understand it, and it’s not from a malicious intent, and it’s from a genuine desire to do good,’ then that’s all you can do,” she said. “One foot in front of the other.”
Measuring intent behind every step forward also led Gregg into a life of fitness and helping others achieve fitness goals as the founder of Warrior Goddess Training Academy. She started the fitness group after finding the health and mentally therapeutic benefits of running after becoming a mother.
“I was dealing with the transformational part of motherhood, where you realize life is never going to be the same as it was before you had children,” she said. “I was looking for a way to take my own health under control and reclaim a little bit of time for myself.”
She soon was hitting the 3-mile mark on her runs. Then 6 miles, which once seemed impossible. If she could do 6 miles, why not 26.2? So Gregg began training for a marathon.
“But I also run very slowly, so it was long and a little bit lonely,” she said. “I thought maybe if we started a social group in the area, people could match up their paces and run together. Basically, I started a Facebook group to connect people who wanted to get together for exercise accountability, training, etc. It took off much more dramatically than I thought and became a social support network for people who were wrestling with their own ideas of health.”
Now at roughly 1,300 members, Warrior Goddess Training Academy has evolved from a fitness group into more of a support organization based around encouraging members to invest in themselves and celebrating every milestone an individual achieves.
“It’s a fitness and accountability group, but it’s really not based in some model of what fitness looks like,” Gregg said. “We try to meet everybody where they’re at and encourage whatever small success each person needs to be celebrated in that moment.”
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