Working with domestic violence survivors requires discretion, but that commitment to confidentiality does not prevent the Baraga County Shelter Home from engaging the community.
Over the past two years, with support from Copper Shores, the shelter has intensified efforts to build awareness and understanding about domestic violence in rural Upper Peninsula communities.
“It really requires the community as a whole to come together and understand that domestic violence is wrong, that love shouldn’t hurt, that everybody does deserve safety,” said Celeste Hendrickson, executive director of the Baraga County Shelter Home. “If you are out at summer events around the area, you’ll often see one of our outreach advocates with a table with pamphlets and information about domestic violence dynamics and how to help somebody that might be experiencing it.”
Hendrickson says raising awareness, funds, and volunteer support presents challenges for most nonprofits in the region. Working with sensitive cases compounds these difficulties.
Copper Shores has provided critical support by equipping nonprofits with tools to spread awareness about their work through Giving Tuesday. “The Copper Shores staff are wonderful with answering any questions and helping guide the nonprofits that they’re working with through the process,” Hendrickson said.
Funding for domestic violence shelters nationwide has been coordinated through the Violence Against Women Act of 1994. While grant funding has fluctuated over the years, recent cuts at federal and state levels have created significant strain.
“For our shelter this year, that’s almost a $30,000 reduction that we’re looking at just for this fiscal year,” Hendrickson said. “That really means limiting the amount of financial support that we can provide for survivors. So that means less emergency hotel stays when our shelter is full. It means less safe cell phones that we’re able to distribute.”
Many survivors arrive at the shelter after abusers have used their phones to stalk or track them. Replacing these devices allows survivors to communicate, find housing, and secure employment.
The Baraga County Shelter Home provides a critical facility in the region, located between two of the Upper Peninsula’s largest cities. Only seven emergency domestic violence shelters exist across the entire Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
“If you’re trying to escape a violent relationship, oftentimes you’re looking at kids that are enrolled in school, maybe the survivor has a job in the local area,” Hendrickson said. “To pick up and move to another community is really challenging, especially the farther you get from home because that’s going to eliminate your support systems.”
The Baraga County Shelter Home will participate in Giving Tuesday alongside other Copper Shores nonprofits. Hendrickson notes the program demonstrates that small communities can create large impacts through collective giving.
Learn more about the Baraga County Shelter Home here. Learn more about the Copper Shores 2026 Giving Tuesday campaign here. Find more Giving Tuesday Spotlights through the main Giving Tuesday Spotlight Series article here.
