WEBVTT 00:00:10.419 --> 00:00:13.019 Hey everybody, I'm Matt Major from Clickstream 00:00:13.019 --> 00:00:17.160 Studios. Welcome to Good News York. Today I am 00:00:17.160 --> 00:00:19.339 joined by two incredible ladies that are going 00:00:19.339 --> 00:00:21.839 to tell us about an organization that's been 00:00:21.839 --> 00:00:24.320 a staple in the central New York community for 00:00:24.320 --> 00:00:27.960 almost 50 years. I think we're approaching 49 00:00:27.960 --> 00:00:33.140 plus. It's called Vera House, and I'd love to 00:00:33.140 --> 00:00:35.320 just dive right in and let you go ahead and just 00:00:35.320 --> 00:00:37.240 introduce yourself, and then we'll talk a little 00:00:37.240 --> 00:00:39.820 bit about what Vera House is. Sure. I'm Tricia 00:00:39.820 --> 00:00:44.560 Matthews. I'm the CEO of Vera House. I just celebrated 00:00:44.560 --> 00:00:48.679 my three -year anniversary, so I'm happy and 00:00:48.679 --> 00:00:51.420 fortunate to be leading this charge. That's great. 00:00:51.799 --> 00:00:54.679 And I'm Rebecca Shiroff. I'm the Senior Director 00:00:54.679 --> 00:00:57.140 of Strategic Partnerships and Intergovernmental 00:00:57.140 --> 00:00:59.619 Affairs. It's quite the mouthful. There's a title 00:00:59.619 --> 00:01:03.899 right there. It is. But I have been with Vera 00:01:03.899 --> 00:01:07.280 House since August, actually. So I'm the new 00:01:07.280 --> 00:01:10.780 kid in town, but one of the most fulfilling roles 00:01:10.780 --> 00:01:12.849 I've ever had. to be honest, with these traits. 00:01:13.230 --> 00:01:15.310 So as I mentioned, you've been around for a long 00:01:15.310 --> 00:01:17.150 time, so there's lots of folks in the community 00:01:17.150 --> 00:01:19.329 that are aware of you, but I think there's probably 00:01:19.329 --> 00:01:21.590 a number of folks who are. So if you wouldn't 00:01:21.590 --> 00:01:23.870 mind, either one of you jump right in and just 00:01:23.870 --> 00:01:25.569 kind of tell us what your mission and what the 00:01:25.569 --> 00:01:27.930 organization's all about. So we're an organization 00:01:27.930 --> 00:01:30.590 that we care for survivors of domestic violence 00:01:30.590 --> 00:01:34.109 and sexual assault. So first and foremost, we're 00:01:34.109 --> 00:01:36.530 here for everybody to serve anybody in need, 00:01:36.650 --> 00:01:41.909 even if they're not ready to flee. 315 -468 -3260 00:01:41.909 --> 00:01:46.969 is our support line, 24 -7. We have two shelters. 00:01:47.069 --> 00:01:51.310 We have a team of advocates. We have a prevention 00:01:51.310 --> 00:01:56.090 education team. We have therapy. We have an accountability 00:01:56.090 --> 00:01:59.209 program for people who have caused harm and who 00:01:59.209 --> 00:02:01.230 come through the prison system to help them. 00:02:02.689 --> 00:02:06.129 We have an abuse in later life. So elder abuse 00:02:06.129 --> 00:02:09.210 is on the rise. So that's an area we want to 00:02:09.210 --> 00:02:13.370 talk about growth. Who am I missing? Oh, our 00:02:13.370 --> 00:02:17.250 same program. Sexual assault nurse exam. So anytime 00:02:17.250 --> 00:02:19.110 someone has been sexually assaulted and they 00:02:19.110 --> 00:02:21.310 end up in one of our emergency rooms, we have 00:02:21.310 --> 00:02:23.270 a team of nurses and advocates that go out and 00:02:23.270 --> 00:02:25.949 support that client. Oh, wow. Yeah. Wow. That's 00:02:25.949 --> 00:02:29.090 an article. Yeah. Yeah. How many folks do you 00:02:29.090 --> 00:02:31.139 have? with the four -year -old organization? 00:02:31.360 --> 00:02:34.180 Roughly around 55. Well, currently we do have 00:02:34.180 --> 00:02:36.379 some vacancies, so we're working to fill those. 00:02:36.520 --> 00:02:38.659 But we have seen an uptick in people applying 00:02:38.659 --> 00:02:41.680 to Vera House, so it's great. So I feel like 00:02:41.680 --> 00:02:43.639 we can't hire everybody at one time. It would 00:02:43.639 --> 00:02:46.300 put us under water. So we strategically kind 00:02:46.300 --> 00:02:47.939 of work on what position we're going to fill 00:02:47.939 --> 00:02:51.300 next. We have an incredible team. I'm going to 00:02:51.300 --> 00:02:53.830 say that. Yeah, and it's very heavy work, what 00:02:53.830 --> 00:02:57.710 they do. Very heavy. You know, so we really push 00:02:57.710 --> 00:03:01.110 self -care a lot at Vera House. And, you know, 00:03:01.110 --> 00:03:05.169 we do events for the staff that really focus 00:03:05.169 --> 00:03:09.409 on self -care because it's heavy, what they do. 00:03:09.509 --> 00:03:11.550 You know, the advocates are stories that you'll 00:03:11.550 --> 00:03:15.349 never unhear and things you'll never unsee. So 00:03:15.349 --> 00:03:19.449 we're always pushing self -care, you know, very 00:03:19.449 --> 00:03:23.919 big on that. Unfortunately, our mission says 00:03:23.919 --> 00:03:26.759 we're going to end it, but unfortunately, I don't 00:03:26.759 --> 00:03:30.099 see that anytime on the horizon because when 00:03:30.099 --> 00:03:31.879 you look at our statistics, which actually I 00:03:31.879 --> 00:03:34.979 wanted to share some, that's with you as far 00:03:34.979 --> 00:03:37.680 as, and I have to look on my phone here. But 00:03:37.680 --> 00:03:41.840 in 2025 in review, we had, for example, over 00:03:41.840 --> 00:03:44.400 200 survivors housed through our shelters. We 00:03:44.400 --> 00:03:47.939 had over 255 patients met at the hospital by 00:03:47.939 --> 00:03:51.560 sexual assault nurse examiners. We had over 4 00:03:51.560 --> 00:03:54.139 ,000 community members and students reached through 00:03:54.139 --> 00:03:56.860 prevention education, which is huge because that's 00:03:56.860 --> 00:04:01.699 where it starts before it begins. Over 5 ,600 00:04:01.699 --> 00:04:06.039 crisis calls received by the advocacy team. That's 00:04:06.039 --> 00:04:10.159 huge. And over 400 program completions for the 00:04:10.159 --> 00:04:14.060 accountability programs, which as Tricia mentioned, 00:04:14.900 --> 00:04:18.069 are for people who have caused harm. And sometimes 00:04:18.069 --> 00:04:19.689 we'll get people say, well, how can you work 00:04:19.689 --> 00:04:21.589 with... Well, let me explain this to you. If 00:04:21.589 --> 00:04:26.490 you have one person who has abused someone, there's 00:04:26.490 --> 00:04:29.449 been cases that we've had where it's one person 00:04:29.449 --> 00:04:32.889 with four victims. You get to them after the 00:04:32.889 --> 00:04:34.589 first one, that's three you're not gonna have. 00:04:35.589 --> 00:04:38.329 So it is incredibly important because as Trisha 00:04:38.329 --> 00:04:41.910 has said before, you can't arrest your way out 00:04:41.910 --> 00:04:45.009 of domestic violence. You know, it's prevention 00:04:45.009 --> 00:04:47.730 education, it's accountability, it's all of the 00:04:47.730 --> 00:04:50.829 things in between. So it's a lot of work. It's 00:04:50.829 --> 00:04:53.089 a lot of work. If you wouldn't mind, tell me 00:04:53.089 --> 00:04:54.930 a little bit more about the prevention part. 00:04:55.410 --> 00:04:57.589 What is that program like? What happens there? 00:04:57.850 --> 00:05:01.949 Sure. So we have contracts with a lot of the 00:05:01.949 --> 00:05:04.790 school districts in the school district, college 00:05:04.790 --> 00:05:07.850 campuses. And so our team goes out and presents 00:05:07.850 --> 00:05:11.019 on healthy relationships. explaining what sexual 00:05:11.019 --> 00:05:13.459 assault and domestic violence actually is, right? 00:05:13.500 --> 00:05:16.240 Some people don't even know. And expressing and 00:05:16.240 --> 00:05:18.399 explaining that it's in everybody's backyard, 00:05:18.720 --> 00:05:20.560 right? It's not over there in that other neighborhood. 00:05:20.980 --> 00:05:23.060 It's in everyone's backyard. And the numbers 00:05:23.060 --> 00:05:25.300 that Rebecca talks about, that's just the people 00:05:25.300 --> 00:05:28.160 that came forth. The people that sit in it and 00:05:28.160 --> 00:05:30.959 just don't know that there's a place to go, right? 00:05:30.980 --> 00:05:34.500 Or that that's for somebody else. So we talk 00:05:34.500 --> 00:05:37.160 all the time, 2026 Prevention Education Department, 00:05:37.379 --> 00:05:40.209 we want to... really expand that and grow that. 00:05:41.149 --> 00:05:43.029 We've been meeting with a lot of the politicians 00:05:43.029 --> 00:05:45.850 to talk about getting really embedded in the 00:05:45.850 --> 00:05:48.069 schools on a regular basis, not just when we 00:05:48.069 --> 00:05:51.689 get invited, right? But it should be part of 00:05:51.689 --> 00:05:53.790 educating these kids. Part of the curriculum. 00:05:54.189 --> 00:05:57.910 Every week and a place for them to go if, you 00:05:57.910 --> 00:05:59.750 know, so I think we get there and we can check 00:05:59.750 --> 00:06:02.649 the box that we, you know, we taught the program, 00:06:03.430 --> 00:06:07.860 but is, is it impacting them? And did a kid just 00:06:07.860 --> 00:06:09.980 see domestic violence at home and then came to 00:06:09.980 --> 00:06:12.720 school and then our educators are there and they 00:06:12.720 --> 00:06:15.959 taught the class, but should we be in a resource 00:06:15.959 --> 00:06:17.819 room where they have some place to go and talk 00:06:17.819 --> 00:06:20.720 through that and what that looks like so that 00:06:20.720 --> 00:06:23.480 we can educate them so that they don't become 00:06:23.480 --> 00:06:27.319 the next abuser? That's where we got to move. 00:06:29.060 --> 00:06:31.540 Breaking the cycle. And that's what we want to 00:06:31.540 --> 00:06:34.040 talk about through 2026 because we're not doing 00:06:34.040 --> 00:06:36.639 enough. We got to do more. I say it all the time, 00:06:36.980 --> 00:06:40.180 but easier said than done, right? Got to find 00:06:40.180 --> 00:06:44.040 the funding. Got to hire the right people. You 00:06:44.040 --> 00:06:46.139 got to hire the right people so that they can 00:06:46.139 --> 00:06:50.819 impact these young adults, young kids, so that 00:06:50.819 --> 00:06:53.779 they know, listen, did anyone teach us what a 00:06:53.779 --> 00:06:58.480 healthy relationship is? No. You go through the 00:06:58.480 --> 00:07:00.879 life journey yourself. So I think those are some 00:07:00.879 --> 00:07:03.180 of the changes that we could. you know, really 00:07:03.180 --> 00:07:05.759 implement to turn the corner here so that we 00:07:05.759 --> 00:07:09.100 can do more. And something also that we say is, 00:07:09.100 --> 00:07:12.040 you know, it's not just women that are affected 00:07:12.040 --> 00:07:15.040 by domestic violence. And you don't have to have 00:07:15.040 --> 00:07:17.439 bruises to be a victim of domestic violence. 00:07:18.660 --> 00:07:22.220 You know, we just partnered with Safe Space and 00:07:22.220 --> 00:07:25.379 they're in a hold. they're going to hold their, 00:07:25.379 --> 00:07:28.319 it's a women's empowerment group at Vera House. 00:07:28.420 --> 00:07:31.060 They're going to be facilitating the group at 00:07:31.060 --> 00:07:33.339 our location. So we partnered with them. And 00:07:33.339 --> 00:07:38.259 that is a group for women who, you know, are, 00:07:38.500 --> 00:07:42.040 they are in a domestic violence situation, but 00:07:42.040 --> 00:07:43.879 they feel like, well, maybe I don't need Vera 00:07:43.879 --> 00:07:46.699 House yet because I haven't been hit. We see 00:07:46.699 --> 00:07:49.600 everyone. There's psychological abuse, emotional 00:07:49.600 --> 00:07:52.660 abuse, financial exploitation, all of the above. 00:07:52.959 --> 00:07:55.759 we help all of those people, but we are also 00:07:55.759 --> 00:07:59.339 working with other organizations that do things 00:07:59.339 --> 00:08:02.199 like that. And, you know, let's kind of work 00:08:02.199 --> 00:08:06.019 together and let's bridge the gap. But, you know, 00:08:06.040 --> 00:08:08.759 there are groups for men as well, because men 00:08:08.759 --> 00:08:13.019 can be victims of, you know, maybe not physical, 00:08:13.480 --> 00:08:17.079 but certainly emotional, verbal, financial abuse. 00:08:17.079 --> 00:08:20.569 It happens. So it's... It's something that affects 00:08:20.569 --> 00:08:23.209 everyone, every socioeconomic background, every 00:08:23.209 --> 00:08:26.709 gender, everything. It affects everyone. It affects 00:08:26.709 --> 00:08:30.769 everyone. So before I jump into a couple other 00:08:30.769 --> 00:08:34.129 things, I guess on that note, if somebody needs 00:08:34.129 --> 00:08:36.850 help, what's the best way for them to get it? 00:08:37.490 --> 00:08:40.789 Just start with our support line, right? 24 -7. 00:08:43.310 --> 00:08:45.830 They can come and be a part of one of these groups, 00:08:45.990 --> 00:08:48.110 right? It doesn't mean that you're ready to leave, 00:08:48.190 --> 00:08:50.509 but maybe you're gonna do some safety planning, 00:08:50.549 --> 00:08:52.090 and maybe you're gonna just talk through what 00:08:52.090 --> 00:08:54.629 it is. Because let's face it, life is hard on 00:08:54.629 --> 00:08:58.570 a good day, right? Now take someone who, and 00:08:58.570 --> 00:09:00.750 I'll make all this up. Let's say you don't even 00:09:00.750 --> 00:09:02.309 have a credit card in your name, you don't have 00:09:02.309 --> 00:09:03.990 a vehicle in your name, you don't have a home 00:09:03.990 --> 00:09:07.129 in your name, and now I'm gonna leave it, and 00:09:07.129 --> 00:09:10.230 now I'm bringing my two kids with me, and they 00:09:10.230 --> 00:09:13.230 wanna go back. because it's my dad and it's my 00:09:13.230 --> 00:09:17.350 dog and the fish and the guinea pig. And now 00:09:17.350 --> 00:09:21.330 I'm off with mom in a strange place and we can't 00:09:21.330 --> 00:09:26.929 even buy a cracker. So we talk a lot about, we 00:09:26.929 --> 00:09:30.049 have to make it easier. We've got to put all 00:09:30.049 --> 00:09:33.850 those support mechanisms in place that when some 00:09:33.850 --> 00:09:36.690 poor soul gets the courage to go, we can make 00:09:36.690 --> 00:09:40.009 their life easier and more comfortable and to 00:09:40.009 --> 00:09:44.190 give them hope. because these are tough situations, 00:09:44.610 --> 00:09:48.370 and it's a dark time for them. And we have to 00:09:48.370 --> 00:09:51.470 be responsible for that. Well, it's incredible 00:09:51.470 --> 00:09:55.629 that there even is such a resource. Sure. Can 00:09:55.629 --> 00:09:57.830 you imagine if we weren't here? Right. Right. 00:09:58.029 --> 00:10:01.549 You want to know what keeps me up at night? What 00:10:01.549 --> 00:10:04.960 if we couldn't sustain it? And we can't do it 00:10:04.960 --> 00:10:07.480 on grant funding alone, right? That funding is 00:10:07.480 --> 00:10:10.460 all, that's a whole other topic for another day. 00:10:11.879 --> 00:10:15.000 But we need, and for us to do more and hire more 00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:17.620 staff, we have to find more money to do that. 00:10:18.659 --> 00:10:20.580 And to think of all those numbers that Rebecca 00:10:20.580 --> 00:10:23.620 just rattled off if your house wasn't here, where 00:10:23.620 --> 00:10:26.940 would those people go? And we're competing for 00:10:26.940 --> 00:10:30.120 funds that... you know, some of it's going downstate. 00:10:30.539 --> 00:10:32.700 No, we got to keep that. We got to keep this 00:10:32.700 --> 00:10:34.899 service here. It's vital. Yeah. Because I see 00:10:34.899 --> 00:10:38.919 the look on these people's faces. I can't even 00:10:38.919 --> 00:10:40.940 explain it to you. Yeah. Yeah. I can imagine. 00:10:41.259 --> 00:10:44.519 Yeah. Now, I know you're based in Syracuse. Is 00:10:44.519 --> 00:10:47.179 there a geographical area that you serve or? 00:10:47.919 --> 00:10:50.279 We do that analysis in our database and there's 00:10:50.279 --> 00:10:53.580 about roughly around 30 or 31 little separate 00:10:53.580 --> 00:10:57.419 communities that we take care of. But I think 00:10:57.419 --> 00:10:59.299 it's because those communities know we're here 00:10:59.299 --> 00:11:01.840 and know to call us. We have had clients come 00:11:01.840 --> 00:11:05.320 from other states because of, for safety reasons, 00:11:05.480 --> 00:11:11.740 right? Again, the staff is incredible. To watch 00:11:11.740 --> 00:11:14.159 them navigate a case, a situation, they come 00:11:14.159 --> 00:11:16.460 together as a team, they divide and conquer. 00:11:16.799 --> 00:11:19.639 No two cases are the same. No two days are the 00:11:19.639 --> 00:11:22.820 same. but they know how to navigate the community 00:11:22.820 --> 00:11:25.899 and the resources. We're very, very fortunate 00:11:25.899 --> 00:11:28.779 in Onondaga County to have all of the wraparound 00:11:28.779 --> 00:11:31.899 services that we have access to. And the team 00:11:31.899 --> 00:11:33.960 knows how to navigate that. They do a great job. 00:11:34.200 --> 00:11:36.039 That's great. Yeah. They do everything from, 00:11:36.039 --> 00:11:39.279 you know, if somebody gets there, a lot of times 00:11:39.279 --> 00:11:42.360 they may not have their license. They may not 00:11:42.360 --> 00:11:44.779 have their, you know, because that - Sure. abusers 00:11:44.779 --> 00:11:47.019 tend to take those things away because that's 00:11:47.019 --> 00:11:50.100 another way of having control. So no license, 00:11:50.240 --> 00:11:53.740 no debit card, no nothing. So the advocates help 00:11:53.740 --> 00:11:56.659 them getting their license again, getting their 00:11:56.659 --> 00:11:59.360 pass, you know, just selling their kids for school, 00:12:00.120 --> 00:12:02.860 you know, all of these things that we don't even 00:12:02.860 --> 00:12:06.639 think about. You don't think about it. Exactly, 00:12:06.639 --> 00:12:10.940 you take it for granted. That's why I say, we 00:12:10.940 --> 00:12:12.860 have people that come from every background because 00:12:12.860 --> 00:12:15.240 you can have the great house, the cars, the trips, 00:12:15.279 --> 00:12:16.600 everything, but if you don't even have a debit 00:12:16.600 --> 00:12:20.580 card in your name, where are you going? You have 00:12:20.580 --> 00:12:22.960 to go to your house because you can't even stay 00:12:22.960 --> 00:12:29.220 at a hotel. We do a lot and it's from beginning 00:12:29.220 --> 00:12:33.580 to end. Once they leave us, we also you know, 00:12:33.879 --> 00:12:36.299 continue to help as much as we can, but, you 00:12:36.299 --> 00:12:38.279 know, that's where the funding comes in. You 00:12:38.279 --> 00:12:41.700 know, right now we're about 80 -20, you know, 00:12:42.000 --> 00:12:45.899 grants to private. My dream and my role would 00:12:45.899 --> 00:12:49.200 be to flip that, you know. It's a big dream, 00:12:49.460 --> 00:12:51.539 but, you know, I love a challenge, so there's 00:12:51.539 --> 00:12:54.980 that. But yeah, we just need all the support 00:12:54.980 --> 00:12:57.179 that we can get because we can't go anywhere. 00:12:57.340 --> 00:13:00.019 And we are the only certified rape crisis center 00:13:00.220 --> 00:13:02.559 within how many miles? I don't even know. I think 00:13:02.559 --> 00:13:07.539 it's Rochester. So we're needed here. And if 00:13:07.539 --> 00:13:11.799 we have an increase in population in this area 00:13:11.799 --> 00:13:14.159 in the next few years, guess what that means? 00:13:14.779 --> 00:13:16.220 More people that are going to need Vera House 00:13:16.220 --> 00:13:19.379 because the statistics are one in four women 00:13:19.379 --> 00:13:22.080 are affected by this. So the more people you 00:13:22.080 --> 00:13:23.820 get in here... The more people that are going 00:13:23.820 --> 00:13:26.039 to need our service and more sleepless nights. 00:13:26.480 --> 00:13:29.580 Correct. So let's, let's talk about some of those 00:13:29.580 --> 00:13:33.240 ways that people can help. Um, on top of obviously 00:13:33.240 --> 00:13:36.399 just donating directly, which is probably the 00:13:36.399 --> 00:13:38.879 easiest and quickest and best thing for everybody 00:13:38.879 --> 00:13:41.100 you do. Right. Um, but you also have all kinds 00:13:41.100 --> 00:13:44.549 of different fundraisers, including. one that's 00:13:44.549 --> 00:13:47.009 coming up pretty soon with some cool cars, right? 00:13:47.009 --> 00:13:50.629 Yeah. So, February 11th at the On Center, it's 00:13:50.629 --> 00:13:53.009 the Syracuse Auto Dealers Association Charity 00:13:53.009 --> 00:13:55.690 Preview. And we were fortunate enough this year 00:13:55.690 --> 00:13:58.330 to be selected as one of the benefiting charities. 00:14:00.190 --> 00:14:03.570 other amazing charities as well that are benefiting 00:14:03.570 --> 00:14:06.769 and, you know, a lot of which are, you know, 00:14:06.830 --> 00:14:08.889 we'll work together and do whatever we can to 00:14:08.889 --> 00:14:11.409 help each other. But yeah, Vera House is one 00:14:11.409 --> 00:14:14.389 of them, which was such a wonderful surprise. 00:14:14.610 --> 00:14:19.269 It's great. And on our website, www .verahouse 00:14:19.269 --> 00:14:22.950 .org, if people go on there, right on our homepage, 00:14:23.230 --> 00:14:26.350 they will see SATA. And if they want to purchase 00:14:26.350 --> 00:14:28.870 tickets, they can do it through that. We also 00:14:28.870 --> 00:14:32.149 have our gala that's in October. Should know 00:14:32.149 --> 00:14:34.809 the final date today, as a matter of fact. We 00:14:34.809 --> 00:14:36.669 have the White Ribbon Campaign Breakfast, which 00:14:36.669 --> 00:14:41.750 is April 8th at the Downtown Marriott. What's 00:14:41.750 --> 00:14:43.190 that one all about? That sounds interesting. 00:14:43.909 --> 00:14:50.570 April is White Ribbon Campaign Awareness. It's 00:14:50.570 --> 00:14:55.340 mostly a men -led movement. Wow. to end domestic 00:14:55.340 --> 00:14:58.320 violence, to bring awareness to domestic violence. 00:14:59.139 --> 00:15:01.860 And we kick it off, we kick off the month with 00:15:01.860 --> 00:15:04.159 our breakfast, which is at the Downtown Marriott. 00:15:04.840 --> 00:15:08.899 And we have speakers, we talk about what the 00:15:08.899 --> 00:15:11.519 white ribbon campaign is, and we try and get 00:15:11.519 --> 00:15:15.240 as many men involved in raising awareness and 00:15:15.240 --> 00:15:20.000 talking about healthy masculinity and trying 00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:24.409 to end this problem that we have. There's a lot 00:15:24.409 --> 00:15:27.870 that goes on, but people can also volunteer. 00:15:29.490 --> 00:15:32.710 We have people that do donations of care packages. 00:15:34.330 --> 00:15:37.190 There's just so many ways, so many ways to help. 00:15:37.809 --> 00:15:40.889 What, when you say care packages, what are the 00:15:40.889 --> 00:15:43.389 types of things that are useful that would be 00:15:43.389 --> 00:15:45.950 good for people to give you? Sure. So we're starting 00:15:45.950 --> 00:15:47.730 a new initiative where we're going to have welcome 00:15:47.730 --> 00:15:49.769 baskets for the people who come into our shelter. 00:15:51.039 --> 00:15:56.679 you know, face masks and a journal. You know, 00:15:56.779 --> 00:16:01.539 we could take comforters, towels, sheets, all 00:16:01.539 --> 00:16:03.899 those things. But the thought is on your shit, 00:16:04.480 --> 00:16:09.980 obviously. I'm constantly, constantly harping 00:16:09.980 --> 00:16:12.259 that, you know, when someone has the courage 00:16:12.259 --> 00:16:15.039 to go, and let's face it, if you're coming to 00:16:15.039 --> 00:16:17.940 the shelter, you got no place else to go. When 00:16:17.940 --> 00:16:21.889 you open that door, To me, it's got to feel like 00:16:21.889 --> 00:16:25.090 there's hope. And so, especially when you've 00:16:25.090 --> 00:16:26.590 taken the courage and now you're going to open 00:16:26.590 --> 00:16:28.809 that bedroom door and you're going to stay in 00:16:28.809 --> 00:16:33.289 a strange place, just a welcome basket to provide 00:16:33.289 --> 00:16:35.070 a little comfort for them. You know what I mean? 00:16:35.110 --> 00:16:37.830 I think it's a great idea. Yeah. And there's 00:16:37.830 --> 00:16:40.409 several initiatives that we're going to be looking 00:16:40.409 --> 00:16:45.289 at in the next year. We have annual corporate... 00:16:45.519 --> 00:16:48.419 sponsorships. So there are partnerships that 00:16:48.419 --> 00:16:50.519 companies can do with us where for a certain 00:16:50.519 --> 00:16:54.580 amount, you know, there's obviously there's the 00:16:54.580 --> 00:16:56.519 support itself, but there's also things, you 00:16:56.519 --> 00:16:59.279 know, like tickets to our events and, you know, 00:16:59.460 --> 00:17:03.399 social media, all of that thing. Community Bank 00:17:03.399 --> 00:17:06.980 actually just stepped up big time. They have 00:17:06.980 --> 00:17:11.119 come on board as our community room supporter, 00:17:11.319 --> 00:17:13.339 our community room sponsor, and the community 00:17:13.339 --> 00:17:17.589 room at our office. is the first room where somebody 00:17:17.589 --> 00:17:20.849 who comes to your house will go. Sometimes it's 00:17:20.849 --> 00:17:23.309 a mom with her kids. Sometimes it's just the 00:17:23.309 --> 00:17:28.190 person themselves. But it's supposed to be the 00:17:28.190 --> 00:17:30.809 first space that they walk into when they leave 00:17:30.809 --> 00:17:36.329 that situation. And right now, it feels a little 00:17:36.329 --> 00:17:40.029 clinical. We want it to feel like a home and 00:17:40.029 --> 00:17:42.630 like a living room, somewhere where you can go 00:17:42.630 --> 00:17:45.269 in there and just kind of take a deep breath 00:17:45.269 --> 00:17:48.910 for the first time, probably in years, is you've 00:17:48.910 --> 00:17:52.349 been living with this fear over your head for 00:17:52.349 --> 00:17:56.410 so long. So yeah, Community Bank stepped up and 00:17:56.410 --> 00:17:58.430 they are the sponsor of that room. So we're very 00:17:58.430 --> 00:18:01.289 excited about that. And there's going to be other 00:18:01.289 --> 00:18:04.250 opportunities like that for other areas as well, 00:18:04.430 --> 00:18:07.269 and hopefully areas in the shelter as well. Wow. 00:18:08.730 --> 00:18:11.970 That's awesome. Ladies, the work you do is just 00:18:11.970 --> 00:18:16.170 truly incredible. And I'm really appreciating 00:18:16.170 --> 00:18:18.950 you coming in and telling us about it and hopefully 00:18:18.950 --> 00:18:21.750 us helping to spread the word. Sure. To people 00:18:21.750 --> 00:18:24.130 that might need your services, but also people 00:18:24.130 --> 00:18:27.069 that obviously want to support this incredible 00:18:27.069 --> 00:18:29.769 mission that you have here. So this is great. 00:18:30.910 --> 00:18:34.829 And just another plug for the most upcoming event. 00:18:36.200 --> 00:18:38.420 I'm going to be the acronym wrong way. Zeta. 00:18:39.099 --> 00:18:41.960 Yep, Zeta. Syracuse Auto Dealers Association. 00:18:42.380 --> 00:18:44.880 Yeah. I've attended that event many times. And 00:18:44.880 --> 00:18:48.160 let me tell you, as charity fundraisers go, it's 00:18:48.160 --> 00:18:50.819 one of the most unique. It's a good time. You 00:18:50.819 --> 00:18:54.640 get to see all the new model year cars from almost 00:18:54.640 --> 00:18:57.779 all the dealers. And it's really fun to take 00:18:57.779 --> 00:19:00.119 pictures of very expensive BMWs you're never 00:19:00.119 --> 00:19:02.859 going to buy. The great selfies and a couple 00:19:02.859 --> 00:19:08.829 of those. But everything, it's just a wonderful 00:19:08.829 --> 00:19:11.509 event. Yeah, and they get a good turnout too. 00:19:11.569 --> 00:19:14.390 I think it's like 800 people or to a thousand 00:19:14.390 --> 00:19:17.650 people usually attend, if not more. It's a black 00:19:17.650 --> 00:19:20.289 tie event, so that's always fun. Yeah. But great 00:19:20.289 --> 00:19:23.390 food, you know, drinks. And it's just a good, 00:19:23.549 --> 00:19:26.910 it's a really good time. And they split it between 00:19:26.910 --> 00:19:29.490 the On Center and the War Memorial. So you get 00:19:29.490 --> 00:19:31.250 to take a little golf cart to the tunnel to go 00:19:31.250 --> 00:19:32.950 to the other side. You see the really, really 00:19:32.950 --> 00:19:37.049 expensive, cool cars. Yep, so yeah, it's a great 00:19:37.049 --> 00:19:42.430 time. Oh, right, I forgot about that. Yeah, it's 00:19:42.430 --> 00:19:43.569 a good time. So we're going to be there and we're 00:19:43.569 --> 00:19:45.410 going to have a table with information about 00:19:45.410 --> 00:19:48.529 our services and what we do and people who will 00:19:48.529 --> 00:19:51.809 be able to answer questions. And because, you 00:19:51.809 --> 00:19:54.630 know, again, one in four. So the odds of somebody 00:19:54.630 --> 00:19:58.549 being at the event that. And it takes a village, 00:19:58.549 --> 00:20:01.730 right? We say it all the time. So thank you for 00:20:01.730 --> 00:20:05.170 being a villager to help. push the message forward. 00:20:05.369 --> 00:20:07.250 I don't think we could do these things enough, 00:20:07.269 --> 00:20:09.890 actually. Yeah. Well, I was actually going to 00:20:09.890 --> 00:20:12.430 ask you, what is kind of the most common way 00:20:12.430 --> 00:20:14.509 that you use right now to get the message out 00:20:14.509 --> 00:20:17.190 and spread? Do you do a lot of tabling at every 00:20:17.190 --> 00:20:19.250 kind of event, things like that? So we're trying 00:20:19.250 --> 00:20:21.829 to switch it up a little bit for 2026 and get 00:20:21.829 --> 00:20:24.210 back to the grassroots, because I think that's 00:20:24.210 --> 00:20:26.609 what Sister Mary Vera did, right? So I think 00:20:26.609 --> 00:20:29.170 we're working on that. And it's one cup of coffee 00:20:29.170 --> 00:20:31.910 at a time. We just started a coffee with Vera 00:20:31.910 --> 00:20:36.289 House. to mirror the coffee with a cop. And we 00:20:36.289 --> 00:20:39.390 had our first one yesterday at recess, coffee, 00:20:39.450 --> 00:20:41.950 which was great and to see the people that came 00:20:41.950 --> 00:20:44.670 out and just to have a conversation. So we'll 00:20:44.670 --> 00:20:46.670 be doing those, watch for those on our social 00:20:46.670 --> 00:20:48.490 media. We'll do that once a month. We're gonna 00:20:48.490 --> 00:20:51.490 start doing maybe a happy hour once a month just 00:20:51.490 --> 00:20:53.849 to bring people in, just to talk through it, 00:20:53.970 --> 00:20:55.650 even just to get to know each other and have 00:20:55.650 --> 00:21:00.049 a conversation and then to bring awareness. And 00:21:00.049 --> 00:21:02.349 we're gonna get back into the churches again. 00:21:02.509 --> 00:21:06.009 just having some people, I was out in Auburn 00:21:06.009 --> 00:21:08.509 the other day picking up a donation. And when 00:21:08.509 --> 00:21:10.890 I talked about Vera House, the woman said, what 00:21:10.890 --> 00:21:13.029 is that? And I thought, oh my God, in Auburn, 00:21:13.029 --> 00:21:16.650 people don't know what Vera House is. So we got 00:21:16.650 --> 00:21:18.630 our work cut out for us to get out there and 00:21:18.630 --> 00:21:22.210 educate people. Schools, faith -based organizations, 00:21:23.410 --> 00:21:27.250 everywhere, anywhere that we can go. Things like 00:21:27.250 --> 00:21:32.220 this, raise awareness. Yeah, and social media, 00:21:32.740 --> 00:21:34.779 we're constantly pushing our social media, because 00:21:34.779 --> 00:21:37.920 let's face it, people are like this all day. 00:21:37.940 --> 00:21:42.079 Addicted to their phones. Exactly. But yeah, 00:21:42.079 --> 00:21:45.539 and I just remind people, I live my life with 00:21:45.539 --> 00:21:48.299 the mantra, pay it forward. And if you notice, 00:21:48.460 --> 00:21:51.079 anytime I do anything on social media, my hashtag 00:21:51.079 --> 00:21:55.200 always has hashtag pay it forward. And I just 00:21:55.200 --> 00:21:57.480 want to remind everyone that if you are lucky 00:21:57.480 --> 00:21:59.880 enough, to be in a situation where you're not 00:21:59.880 --> 00:22:01.559 fearing for your life, where you're not fearing 00:22:01.559 --> 00:22:05.420 for your kids' lives. Pay it forward. You know, 00:22:05.420 --> 00:22:08.140 it's a blessing because people don't, people 00:22:08.140 --> 00:22:10.700 never want to be or expect to be in that situation, 00:22:10.720 --> 00:22:12.579 but somehow you find yourself in that situation. 00:22:13.000 --> 00:22:17.240 So if you're lucky enough to not be in that, 00:22:17.440 --> 00:22:21.200 think about the people who aren't and pay it 00:22:21.200 --> 00:22:25.160 forward in some way. That's fair. I like that. 00:22:25.700 --> 00:22:29.319 Mine's absolutely. Um, ladies, last thing I want 00:22:29.319 --> 00:22:32.839 to ask you is, and cause you mentioned something, 00:22:32.839 --> 00:22:39.079 um, sister, sister. Mary Vera. I'm assuming that's 00:22:39.079 --> 00:22:41.619 where Vera house comes from. Just tell me that. 00:22:41.740 --> 00:22:44.660 Sure. So she was a nun back in the day that, 00:22:44.660 --> 00:22:49.099 um, you know, found women who are abused and 00:22:49.099 --> 00:22:51.579 hid them, right. Gave them a place to go and 00:22:51.579 --> 00:22:55.059 sleep. And, um, you know, I know that as we've 00:22:55.059 --> 00:22:56.759 grown, I think about her all the time. We got 00:22:56.759 --> 00:22:59.730 her. photograph and we just got her a new frame 00:22:59.730 --> 00:23:02.970 and so you know we have to pay attention to like 00:23:02.970 --> 00:23:05.829 what her drive and mission was from the very 00:23:05.829 --> 00:23:08.390 beginning and it's a hefty one right because 00:23:08.390 --> 00:23:10.430 we've talked about it it says we're going to 00:23:10.430 --> 00:23:14.829 end it and so we got a lot of work to do so I 00:23:14.829 --> 00:23:16.690 think better often to say I hope she's watching 00:23:16.690 --> 00:23:20.269 out for us because we got a we got a big hill 00:23:20.269 --> 00:23:24.779 to climb yeah yeah great what a great icon to 00:23:24.779 --> 00:23:27.160 focus on. Sure, sure. And it's people like you 00:23:27.160 --> 00:23:29.700 that help us climb that because I follow what 00:23:29.700 --> 00:23:32.579 you do and you really do. You really do great 00:23:32.579 --> 00:23:35.720 work and you bring a lot of awareness to a lot 00:23:35.720 --> 00:23:41.079 of organizations in the area. We try to. We are 00:23:41.079 --> 00:23:43.619 Good News York. Like I said, we stay away from 00:23:43.619 --> 00:23:45.420 controversy and things like that. And sometimes 00:23:45.420 --> 00:23:47.799 though, we get into things like this that aren't 00:23:47.799 --> 00:23:50.460 necessarily the most. upbeat, but at the same 00:23:50.460 --> 00:23:53.559 time, the idea that there is help for these things 00:23:53.559 --> 00:23:56.119 is best known. And you have survivor stories, 00:23:56.160 --> 00:23:58.640 which are amazing. I mean, our shelter director, 00:23:59.519 --> 00:24:02.099 she was, she's a survivor of domestic violence 00:24:02.099 --> 00:24:05.400 that was helped by Vera House. And now she runs 00:24:05.400 --> 00:24:08.599 our shelter and helps these women navigate what, 00:24:08.599 --> 00:24:12.059 you know, what she went through. Yeah, she's 00:24:12.059 --> 00:24:15.299 engaged, happy, living her best life. And so, 00:24:15.380 --> 00:24:16.980 you know, when you see those survivor stories, 00:24:17.000 --> 00:24:19.740 you're like, This is why we do what we do. Yeah. 00:24:19.900 --> 00:24:22.059 You know, that's great. And it's, again, pay 00:24:22.059 --> 00:24:25.119 it forward. Right. Yeah. I love it. Uh, ladies, 00:24:25.119 --> 00:24:28.420 we can talk about the endless, uh, list of programs 00:24:28.420 --> 00:24:30.099 and, and how they work and everything. But I 00:24:30.099 --> 00:24:32.539 think the best bet at this point is to let you 00:24:32.539 --> 00:24:35.480 get back to it and tell folks to go to the website 00:24:35.480 --> 00:24:37.940 and check out all of these things. Svirahouse 00:24:37.940 --> 00:24:43.660 .org is the place to go for those things. check 00:24:43.660 --> 00:24:46.740 them out and sign up. I'm telling you, this charity 00:24:46.740 --> 00:24:50.359 preview car event is pretty awesome. It is. And 00:24:50.359 --> 00:24:52.359 the way they support Vera House specifically 00:24:52.359 --> 00:24:54.720 is buying the tickets through your site, right? 00:24:54.740 --> 00:24:58.160 Correct. That's one unique thing about it is 00:24:58.160 --> 00:25:00.099 that it does support so many different organizations, 00:25:00.400 --> 00:25:03.539 but go ahead and grab some from Vera House and 00:25:03.539 --> 00:25:06.680 come out, have some cars and a tasty dessert. 00:25:07.000 --> 00:25:11.640 That's right. Have a good time. Ladies, any other 00:25:12.619 --> 00:25:14.420 things we should add. And then I'm going to ask 00:25:14.420 --> 00:25:17.119 you for your just your socials and stuff. But 00:25:17.119 --> 00:25:18.740 anything else that we haven't really covered 00:25:18.740 --> 00:25:22.359 this morning? No, just I think just the awareness. 00:25:23.099 --> 00:25:26.180 And everybody knows somebody. So, you know, you 00:25:26.180 --> 00:25:29.259 don't have to take it into your own hands. Hand 00:25:29.259 --> 00:25:31.039 it off to the professionals that do this every 00:25:31.039 --> 00:25:33.720 day. And we're here. We're here to serve everybody. 00:25:34.019 --> 00:25:36.740 That's the thing, even if you don't. If you're 00:25:36.740 --> 00:25:38.960 lucky enough to never need a service like this, 00:25:39.140 --> 00:25:40.680 knowing that it exists so you can spread the 00:25:40.680 --> 00:25:45.980 word is huge. That sounds absolutely great. So, 00:25:46.019 --> 00:25:47.759 Lise, thank you again for joining us. Come back 00:25:47.759 --> 00:25:49.700 any time, especially when we get closer to some 00:25:49.700 --> 00:25:52.900 of your other events. We'll talk about them and 00:25:52.900 --> 00:25:55.279 all the good things that you're doing. Thanks 00:25:55.279 --> 00:25:57.619 for having us, really. Thank you. And follow 00:25:57.619 --> 00:26:01.140 us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and everything 00:26:01.140 --> 00:26:04.509 is Vera House, Inc. That car, that's our circle. 00:26:04.769 --> 00:26:06.869 So stay up to date with everything through that. 00:26:07.130 --> 00:26:09.710 Love it. And, and one more time, the hotline 00:26:09.710 --> 00:26:13.930 number. 315 -468 -3260. All right. And that's 00:26:13.930 --> 00:26:17.769 24 hour. Awesome. We'll have all that in the 00:26:17.769 --> 00:26:19.410 descriptions and notes. Of course, if you're 00:26:19.410 --> 00:26:21.750 watching this, just look below and all that information 00:26:21.750 --> 00:26:23.170 will be there. You don't have to try to jot it 00:26:23.170 --> 00:26:28.990 down as we say it, but check out Vera House and 00:26:28.990 --> 00:26:32.009 follow along Good News York for all kinds of 00:26:31.980 --> 00:26:34.779 more of these incredible interviews. We are very 00:26:34.779 --> 00:26:38.579 close to our move to our new location. So these 00:26:38.579 --> 00:26:41.259 are some of the final episodes in this studio. 00:26:42.240 --> 00:26:45.039 Um, it's been fun, but I think the new spot is 00:26:45.039 --> 00:26:47.700 going to be incredibly cool. So thank you to 00:26:47.700 --> 00:26:49.700 everybody who's been watching and making that 00:26:49.700 --> 00:26:52.660 happen. Especially our man, Zach from ads on 00:26:52.660 --> 00:26:56.539 the go, our sponsor get ads on the go .com is 00:26:56.539 --> 00:27:00.279 the address check out to see his awesome mobile 00:27:00.279 --> 00:27:04.059 billboard truck. Danny's behind the board. Mike 00:27:04.059 --> 00:27:07.519 is off somewhere in the Carolinas fishing. I 00:27:07.519 --> 00:27:11.119 don't think he has some... Good for him. But 00:27:11.119 --> 00:27:13.099 with that, peace out.