COVE will receive $500,000 in FY 2027 state budget

State Rep. Curt VanderWall has helped secure a state investment to help expand and improve the Communities Overcoming Violent Encounters (COVE) emergency shelter for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault through the recently signed fiscal year 2027 state budget.

COVE is the only comprehensive emergency shelter and advocacy program serving survivors across Mason, Lake, Oceana, and Manistee counties. The funding will help complete the organization’s long-term building campaign by expanding living space, improving accessibility, replacing aging infrastructure, and enhancing security to better serve survivors and their children.

“It’s important for the people I represent to see their state tax dollars invested here in our community,” VanderWall said. “COVE has been providing a lifeline for families across Northern Michigan for decades, and this investment will ensure they can continue meeting a growing need in our hometowns. Survivors deserve a secure, welcoming environment where they can begin to heal and rebuild their lives.”

The improvements will modernize the shelter through critical HVAC upgrades, expanded living and support areas, enhanced safety and security features, and other infrastructure improvements designed to create a more accessible, trauma-informed environment.

Obtaining the investment took significant efforts from VanderWall’s team at the state capital. Last year, the Legislature adopted a new process for individual lawmaker spending requests for their local communities within the state budget. The more rigorous and publicly transparent effort ensures no fraudulent or wasteful spending items slip through the cracks. The process prevents tax increases or raiding of the state’s emergency fund, which VanderWall said some Lansing lawmakers have been fighting for.

VanderWall advocated for the funding before the House Appropriations Committee earlier this year, emphasizing the essential role COVE plays in providing emergency shelter, a 24-hour crisis hotline, legal and medical advocacy, safety planning, sexual assault forensic exams, and prevention education throughout the region.

“This funding will help COVE serve more people while ensuring survivors have the dignity, safety, and support they need during some of the most difficult moments of their lives,” VanderWall said during the hearing.

The funding is included in the Fiscal Year 2027 state budget that was recently signed into law and takes effect on Oct. 1 of this year.