Carson domestic violence shelter holds bench dedication

Advocates to End Domestic Violence is furnishing units of its new shelter after holding a bench dedication Wednesday, but each one will be unique.

The opportunity to design a shelter for local survivors, AEDV Director Lisa Lee said, will only happen once in her lifetime. So to find just the right collections to make them feel welcome is important.

“I want it to be right,” Lee said Wednesday. “It’s going to outlast me, and everybody’s involved, so you want it, in 10, 15, 20, 30 years, to still be functional and usable and still be meeting everybody’s needs and still be comfortable.”

Move-in is planned by Nov. 1.

AEDV provides temporary shelter, resources and crisis intervention support to survivors impacted by mental or physical abuse and sexual assault. The shelter offers one-and two-bedroom units with bathrooms.

Terri Farnworth, office manager for AEDV, said the organization is nearly at capacity. In some situations, most victims of domestic violence or sexual abuse have to drop everything in their lives at a moment’s notice to escape their abuser.

“Women tend to stay the whole three months,” she said. “You know, they don’t all come in with their documents, their work certificate and Social Security. You need to be able to get on housing and food stamps. … There’s a lot of little steps, but we’re hoping with the case manager that in the three months, they’ll be able to accomplish those things.”

AYR Wellness, a cannabis operator with dispensaries in Nevada, has committed to organizing donation drives and volunteer days in October to support of AEDV. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

AYR’s Chief People Officer Anya Varga said the organization formed an employee resource group, Women of Weed, to develop women internally in the industry and provide them with opportunities.

“We have members on our team affected by domestic violence,” Varga said. “This is how the topic became front and center. We wanted to ensure we make space for women and understanding as they’re seeking help so they’re not just suffering in silence.”

Maria Guzman, who works in the lead packaging department at Tahoe Hydroponics based in Carson City, said she supports AEDV’s work as a member of the employee research group with AYR Wellness. Guzman also became involved with Domestic Violence Month as a survivor, she said.

“My second time that I faced a domestic violence issue, I was at a point where I needed to figure out a survival mode and move on … and start over,” she said. “So I chose this project. We’re not just a cannabis and smokers group or working a cannabis facility. We do more. We want to provide more for employees and bring awareness and I'm a big advocate.”

Guzman said it’s helped her to bring closure to a chapter in her life in which she had felt denial and fear about reaching out for help.

Varga said AYR met with Lee earlier this year and talked about AEDV’s permitting delays and asked to help. As a result, AYR donated two benches that have been placed in the shelter’s community garden that has been landscaped with trees and walking areas.

The shelter project broke ground in October 2023.

“We were fortunate we worked with a really good architect who was really receptive to what we wanted, and he had a really good eye and we wanted positive, passive light,” she said.

Lee said she’s proud to finally see it come to fruition.

“I wish I’d been able to do it when I was in my 40s where you have a little more energy and you can just deal with things a little better,” she said.