A Powerful Vision for Verde Valley Sanctuary

Every nonprofit should have a vision. A single, overarching vision aligns staff, leadership, partners and donors around the ultimate goal of the work; it is an essential tool for making decisions about programs and initiatives, and tells us what the mission leads up to—the future we are working towards. A vision statement is not just an exercise. It defines the core reason for the organization’s existence and makes work more meaningful. We know where we are going! Please join us.

The Sanctuary’s vision is to renovate, sustain, and expand services with five distinct phases.

Phase 1 Achieved April 2020: Renovate the Shelter building and provide on-site pet kennels. Cost: $250,000.

Phase 2 Current Focus: Pay off mortgages for a pet-friendly affordable housing complex and the Camp Verde Thriftique to increase sustainability. Cost: $1,000,000.

Phase 3: Expand the pet-friendly emergency Shelter facility to include: individual bedrooms for highly traumatized clients, advocacy-based counseling group room, and expansion of pet-friendly kennels. Cost: $3,000,000.

Phase 4: Obtain One-Stop Center for all services including advocacy-based counseling and safety planning, legal advocacy, and community-wide education and prevention programs. Cost: $1,500,000.

Phase 5: Increase access to affordable housing. Build tiny homes for clients who need time to prepare for successful independent living. Cost: Under advisement.

A note about pet-friendly Shelter. By providing concrete assistance to survivors with pets, the Sanctuary helps smooth the path to safety for both survivors and their companion animals. Up to 48% of domestic violence victims report that they delayed leaving a dangerous situation because they feared for their pets’ safety and knew of no place to take them (Carlisle-Frank, Frank, & Neilsen, 2004).

Survivors should not have to choose between getting the help and support they need to live free from violence and leaving their beloved pet with their abuser. Currently, it is estimated that only 10% of all domestic violence shelters nationwide accommodate companion animals. (Purina Purple Leash Project).

The Sanctuary’s mission is to enhance the safety of and increase services for survivors of sexual and domestic violence and end additional abuse through community education. The Sanctuary began 28 years ago as a grassroots organization of women who were concerned about domestic violence in our community.

The original group of volunteers began taking crisis calls in their homes and transporting victims of abuse to the nearest shelters in Flagstaff, Prescott, and Phoenix. Thanks to generous donations from the community, the Sanctuary opened the first shelter in 1994 in a leased modular home that slept six.

Since then, the Sanctuary has strategically expanded and now offers comprehensive services for victims of family domestic violence and assault including a 28-bed shelter, 24-hour crisis hotline, a six-bedroom step-up housing complex, advocacy-based counseling, safety planning, legal advocacy, and communitywide education and prevention programs.

For more information or to make a donation, contact Community Development Director Tracey McConnell at (928) 282-2755, development@verdevalleysanctuary.org, or visit the website https://www.verdevalleysanctuary.org.