Behind the Fling: What the SMRC is all about

04 Feb Behind the Fling: What the SMRC is all about

[click "Play" button to hear interview with Nancy Anderson]

Melanie Montoya, Nicole Hagan, Melissa Sumpter,
Nancy Anderson, Angela Goforth, Lauren Shaddox

On Saturday night, February 7, 7:30 – 11:30 p.m., the San Miguel Resource Center holds its annual “Chocolate Lovers Fling,” an all-out bash and the nonprofit’s only major public fundraiser.

Supporting the Fling means help is on the way for you, a family member, or a neighbor should a call to the organization’s hotline ever become necessary.

The organization generates fully 1/3 of its annual budget from the Fling and counts on the generosity of contributors and the success of the event to be able to offer innovative services from these discretionary funds.

The SMRC is all about eliminating domestic violence and sexual assault in our neck of the woods through crisis intervention, education and social change.

The nonprofit defines abuse as anything from a vague feeling something is wrong to battering and worse.

SMRC was called Tomboy House when it was first formed in 1992 by a group of locals, including Bev McTigue, Dr. Marshall Whiting, Dr. Susannah Smith and Marsha Ewell. By 1994, Tomboy House had established a 24-hour hotline to help victims through crisis intervention and referrals.

These days, in addition to crisis intervention and a hotline for Telluride, Norwood, Nucla/Naturita, the SMRC provides a wide range of programs/services in English and in Spanish, including cultural outreach, advocacy to help clients with court and medical services, safe housing, preventative community education, and awareness initiatives.

To hear more, click the “play” button and listen to Nancy Anderson, M.A., L.P.C., the SMRC’s executive director, talk about what makes her organization tick and the ways the Fling’s funds make a difference.