FOR VICTIMS AND SURVIVORS OF DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT AND HOMELESSNESS

Our History

Turning Point began in 1980 through the grassroots efforts of community volunteers who wanted to provide a supportive and safe environment for victims of domestic violence. With a 15-bed shelter and 24-hour crisis line, it was one of the first programs of its kind. Today, the agency operates from four locations: a 41-bed emergency shelter and 24-hour crisis line, a combined outreach, administrative office and second hand store, a Personal Protection Order Office, and a Sexual Assault Forensic Nurse Examiners Program.

In 1999, Turning Point opened the first Forensic Nurse Examiners Program (FNEP) for sexual assault survivors in Southeast Michigan, through activism, the support of local hospitals and law enforcement and resources from the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The program was developed with resources from the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) to address the problem that sexual assault survivors felt re-victimized when they reported their assault, a factor making sexual assault the most under-reported crime in the United States. Turning Point's FNEP changed those realities by creating a response that restores the dignity of sexual assault survivors by providing immediate crisis intervention and forensic evidence collection using the most advanced equipment available. All services are offered free of charge, and the community is able to access the program through Turning Point's 24-hour crisis line which dispatches a specially trained nurse and advocate to respond to the immediate needs of victims of sexual assault.

Turning Point has a long history of providing advocacy for domestic and sexual assault survivors, both locally and throughout the State of Michigan. The Executive Director was recognized in 1997 by the Michigan Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence with the Apple Blossom Award for her outstanding efforts to end violence against women in Michigan. Turning Point's Director of Children Services won the Seedling Award for her efforts on behalf of children living in domestic violence shelters. In 2006, Turning Point received an award from the National Family Violence Prevention Fund for advocacy efforts on behalf of domestic violence victims in the child welfare system.

Turning Point is committed to keeping people safe from violence.