Turning Point to receive more funds from for sexual-assault response
Board unanimously increases annual contract to $50K
Macomb officials recently increased what the county pays Turning Point for its Forensic Nurse Examiner Program & First Response Advocacy program after learning about the critical nature of services that it and a partner program provide.
The county Board of Commissioners unanimously voted to up its contract with the nonprofit organization from $30,000 to $50,000 to go to SANE after hearing from members of a partner program, the Sexual Assault Response Team, at a recent meeting.
Turning Point CEO/President Sharman Davenport said in an interview she is “grateful” for the additional funding as it will help “fill the gaps” and supplement the organization’s state and federal grants, which help assist victims and achieve prosecution of sexual-assault and strangulation offenders.
“It will help survivors/ victims of sexual assault and help us be able to do many of the other things that grants don’t pay for,” Davenport said. “It will provide us a lot of flexibility.”
FNEP and FRA personnel respond to sexual assault reports by conducting a rape kit and providing medical and emotional support for survivors. They also perform exams of strangulation victims as well as some suspect exams, and help victims navigate the social-service and justice system. About 500 exams were conducted last year, according to Turning Point. SART consists of a team of officials from various law enforcement and related organizations to review cases and responses from start to finish of a case.
Commissioner Joe Sabatini of Macomb Township first suggested increasing the contract by $10,000 through a budget amendment at a Nov. 21 board committee meeting and minutes later raised it to $20,000 after fellow Commissioner Mai Xiong of Warren suggested doubling it to $60,000.
“Their $30,000 budget has not changed in a number of years so I think it’s warranted and I think we should approve more funds for Turning Point,” Sabatini said.
“They came before us and made their case, and it was very compelling,” Xiong said. “This is a problem that’s not going to go away. I think it’s very important to be advocates for victims in our county.”
At a prior board committee meeting few days before, Cyndy SchalterSalsido, coordinator of SART, and several other members of SART described the scope and depth of services provided to survivors by FNEP & FRA.
“We’re survivor centered, offender focused,” Schalter-Salsido said.
“Having a group like this is beyond important,” said SART member James Friedman, a pastor and chaplain for Eastpointe police.
Molly Zappitell, chief of the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office child protection (and sexual assault) unit, called FNEP & FRA “a huge asset,” essential to gathering evidence that helps convict sexualassault offenders.
“These are very, very difficult cases with very limited evidence when we present them in front of a jury,” Zappitell said at the meeting. “They give the victim the voice that they need and the security they need when they get sexually assaulted. They (FNEP & FRA members) can work with them (survivors) and delicately secure the evidence we need as a prosecutor but also provide the treatments, the resources, the counseling and everything else that they do.”
Survivors immediately after an assault typically require a 28-day course of medications to combat sexually transmitted diseases and HIV at a cost of $3,000, some or none of which may be covered by health insurance, officials said.
Board Chairman Don Brown of Washington Township invited Turning Point to speak to the board after attending one of SART’s monthly meetings where they review cases.
“These are remarkable people doing things that most people don’t even want to think about,” Brown said at a board panel meeting. “They’re involved with the worst things that go on in our county. The passion and compassion that they all shared about looking at the victims that come to their doors at all hours of the day. You’re all angels for all you do for people at a low point in their lives, and you help build them back up.”
While the $50,000 represents a relatively small amount of Turning Point’s approximately nearly $6 million budget but will lessen the need to dip into the organization’s general funds, Davenport said.
The Turning Point contract is with the county Health Department, of which Andrew Cox is the director.
“It’s a great organization. They do great work,” Cox said.
FNEP & FRA operates around the clock and is staffed with five fulltime staffers, one parttime staff and more than a dozen contractual employees who help cover the off-hour responses. Responders “provide comprehensive medical forensic examinations and emotional support to adults and children who have experienced sexual assault or intimate partner strangulation,” information on the Turning Point web site says. “Loved ones are welcomed to accompany the survivor and also receive support. … Survivors can speak with a nurse without completing an exam, or may choose to complete only parts of the exam.”
Turning Point, located in Mount Clemens, also provides a shelter, housing opportunities, a hotline and support and prevention services for domestic and sexual violence survivors. It also recently started an anti-Human Trafficking program and operates a thrift store.