GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY, Mich,. (WPBN/WGTU) – – Grand Traverse County Commissioners have approved the distribution of $500,000 from adult use marijuana sales to 13 local nonprofits.
The funds, allocated during a recent commission meeting, aim to support various community services, including the Women’s Resource Center (WRC), which received $50,000.
Juliette Schultz, executive director of the WRC, expressed gratitude for the grant, stating, “Thank you so much for prioritizing survivors of domestic and sexual violence.”
The funding will help cover operational costs for Helen’s House, an emergency shelter for survivors.
“We have it staffed 24/7 and we do not disclose the location for obvious reasons. We are housing victims of crime and so we are raising money every year to keep our shelter open, so this really helps us fill the gap that is left between what we get from the state and feds and what we need to raise to keep the shelter open,” Schultz noted. “That grant alone will provide about 357 nights of shelter which is phenomenal.”
The county received over 931,000 dollars in marijuana funds, with the remaining $431,000 earmarked for future facilities projects.
“We were one of the lucky 13 recipients of the marijuana funding that the county has granted,” Schultz said.
At Wednesday’s commission meeting, the approval of $500,000 in adult use marijuana funds were given to a handful of successful grant applicants.
“Yes, it took quite a few meetings. We didn’t have about three meetings where we worked through the applicants. We read through all the great applications that were received. Our staff did a great job at scoring from 100 to one and we just had to break it down,” Commissioner Lauren Flynn said.
In total 81 applicants were went down to 13 receiving grants ranging from $20,000 to $80,000.
Flynn said, “It’s wonderful to be able to serve our community and help the ones in need. It’s difficult and hard to see that there’s so much need in our community that’s not being fulfilled. I’m honored to be able to get that money out of those 13.”
The grants, ranging from $20,000 to $80,000, were awarded based on a scoring matrix evaluating various factors.
Schultz added, “We at the Women’s Resource Center recognize that the community is with us and when the commissioners make a decision to fund 13 very important community services and we’re one of them we’re super grateful for that.”
