2025 Annual Report

The Friendship Center provided 8,259 services to 733 known individuals in 2025. TFC Executive Director Gina Boesdorfer highlights the reach of our services and the impact of our community's support over the past year in our latest annual report.

Support strongly influences safety, healing, and long-term stability. This is true for each of us, and as we reflect on 2025, we are reminded that our strength comes not only from the courage of our clients, but from a community committed to sustaining this work together.

It’s impossible to reflect on this past year without acknowledging the challenges we faced with our largest funding partner, the federal government. At each turn, we ran into threats to our different federal funding sources, new requirements that would put us at odds with the law, and a frustrating shell game that had us navigating new threats throughout the year, requiring constant adaptation.

Through this cascade of volatility, we never questioned our existence. That confidence came from the steadiness of this community and the shared belief that this work must continue. In 2025, we saw this reflected in new collaborations, expanded services, and opportunities to bring people together around prevention and healing. We are pleased to share some of those bright spots with you here.

• An Army of Women

  In recognition of Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April, we presented a free community screening of An Army of Women, a documentary following the plaintiffs of a 2018 federal class-action lawsuit against law enforcement and prosecutors in Austin, Texas, for the systemic mishandling of rape cases. Following years of litigation, the plaintiffs and their legal team achieved a groundbreaking settlement that led to significant reforms in the handling of sexual assault in their community. Our well-attended screening was followed by a talkback with myself and our partners in healthcare, law enforcement, and the criminal justice system who work alongside us to address and respond to sexual violence in our community.

• Support, Day or Night

  Last year, we shared that we began piloting a new structure for staffing our 24-hour helpline. We are proud to report that the new structure is here to stay. Dedicated crisis line advocates now cover shifts outside office hours, holidays, and administrative closures, expanding our team’s capacity and allowing full-time advocates to focus more fully on ongoing client care and case coordination. After successfully piloting weekend coverage in 2025, we will expand to include weeknights in 2026.

• Pets are Family

  Up to 70% of domestic violence victims have pets, and many of them (20-60%) will delay leaving a dangerous situation because they don’t know where to place or how to protect their pets. With all the barriers our clients face, this should not be another one. In late 2025, we began piloting pets in shelter. Our communal shelter is not perfect for housing pets, but we currently have three happy cats nestled in with their owners. We will continue to seek ways to more comfortably welcome pets in shelter, and we are looking to reduce other barriers to accessing our services.

• Educational Resources

  While we continue to offer presentations in area high schools and college classrooms, as well as specialized training for law enforcement, first responders, healthcare providers, and other local officials, our Education Coordinator is also creating a new video learning series to expand access to our educational materials. These videos are ideal for both those who are starting to learn basic concepts as well as anyone who just wants a refresher on specific topics. To date, our videos have covered topics like how the reality of stalking contrasts to how it’s depicted in popular media, risk factors indicating a domestic violence victim is likely to experience severe harm or homicide, and why victims stay in abusive relationships.

• Partnership and Care in Critical Moments

  Strangulation is one of the biggest signs that a relationship could end in murder. With our partners at St. Peter’s Health, in summer of 2025 we expanded our hospital responses beyond sexual assault. Advocates now respond to the emergency room for all strangulations as well. By improving our collective response to strangulation and providing collaborative support to victims, we can halt the progression toward homicide and save lives in our community.

Alongside meaningful progress in 2025, we’ve also seen real pressures. We do not operate in isolation; we share in the challenges facing nonprofits across our community and state, where rising needs are colliding with diminishing resources.

• Community Resources Constrict

  We have witnessed how fragile the ecosystem of social services is these past few years. Our clients have fewer resources to turn to as capacity in our community dwindles. Shifting state priorities have resulted in places like Career Training Institute closing, changing policies at partner organizations, and affordable housing continuing to be a thing of the past. Our advocates are resourceful problem solvers, but they are not magicians. 

• Sustaining the Work Ahead

  Thanks to lawsuits in place, all of our current federal funding remains intact. We are cautiously optimistic of our ability to continue applying for those funds in the future, but we have continued to notice delays in the opening of solicitations for different funding programs. At the same time, some private foundations that used to fund us have shifted their priorities and that funding is no longer available. While we are overturning every rock to seek other private foundation support, we have not yet backfilled that gap. Fortunately, our individual and community supporters continue to be the bedrock of our agency, ensuring that we will remain viable and here to serve.

Challenges and opportunities abound in the year ahead. The needs in our community continue to evolve, and we are committed to strengthening our services, deepening our partnerships, and adapting to the landscape so anyone can access safety and support. We remain committed to building a future where survivors are met not only in moments of crisis, but with long-term pathways toward stability and healing. This means continuing to invest in collaborative responses, client- and community-centered programming, and systems that ensure this work endures.

The progress reflected in this report is not the result of one organization alone. It is the result of a community choosing, again and again, to believe that safety and dignity matter. Your support allows us to move forward with confidence, respond when needs arise, and continue building a stronger, more connected community for everyone.

With deepest gratitude,

Gina Boesdorfer

Executive Director The Friendship Center