Cornerstone Advocacy Service

Cornerstone's ultimate goal is to reduce the prevalence of interpersonal violence. Healthy futures are possible when we coordinate an effective crisis response, implement trauma-informed services, mitigate the impact of violence on children and youth and confront the roots of violence. Our continuum of service helps to create communities where individuals and families are safe and children thrive. We educate, advocate and lead the way to social change.

Since Cornerstone's founding in 1983, we have always been an innovator in our field. Over the past three decades, Cornerstone has developed a broad continuum of services ranging from prevention to intervention.
Prevention Services:
Cornerstone believes that it is critical to engage in effective prevention services in order to eliminate violence, as well as mitigate the long-term impact. Cornerstone has had a long history of working with children and youth who have been exposed to violence to mitigate the effects it has on their young lives and futures. Children who are exposed to violence in their homes are not only more likely to perpetuate the cycle of violence as victims or perpetrators, they are also more likely to have other negative outcomes- both physical and mental-including a higher likelihood of attempting suicide, abusing drugs and alcohol and running away from home. Early intervention through Cornerstone programming like School-Based Services and Clinical Services for youth can help change these children's futures. Cornerstone also provides educational programming and workshops aimed at helping to understand the interconnection between violence and oppression.

Intervention Services:
Safety: Cornerstone works to address the immediate safety concerns of those experiencing violence. The need for safe, immediate and accessible shelter is critical. Anyone in imminent danger of violence can access our Emergency Services programming, which includes 24 hours/7 days a week hotline, crisis intervention and advocate support, a 35-bed Emergency Shelter, a Hotel/Motel Partnership and all basic needs. Cornerstone's statewide program, Day One ® ensures that victims across the state get connected to safety and services with just one call. Day One is a unique collaboration supporting a network of over 80 Minnesota domestic violence, sexual violence, anti-trafficking, youth advocacy and general crimes agencies.
Stability: Cornerstone first ensures that families are safe and then works with them to move toward financial, emotional and housing stability. We offer individual and group supportive services, employment planning, asset building, financial literacy, safety planning and educational groups for victims and their families. Cornerstone also offers two years of transitional housing and intensive supportive services for up to 13 families. Staff also work on-site at two low-income housing complexes, ensuring families have access to support and resources to maintain stable housing. To address our participants' emotional and mental health, Cornerstone provides specialized, trauma-informed affordable therapy to adults and children affected by interpersonal violence.

Cornerstone has been working with families and individuals affected by domestic violence since 1983 and in that time, we have become more highly skilled as individuals and as an organization. As we develop new programming and improve upon our existing programming, we utilize research-driven best practices and evidence-based models.

Our leadership team brings many years of experience in the field of domestic violence and nonprofit leadership to Cornerstone:

Meg Schnabel, MSW, LCSW, Executive Director: Ms. Schnabel has been working in the domestic violence field for over 20 years. Prior to joining Cornerstone in 2014, she was ED of Redevelopment Opportunities for Women, an organization that has been nationally recognized for their work developing innovative economic interventions for victims of domestic violence. Her experience includes directing domestic violence shelter programs, intervention programs for men who batter, and comprehensive mental health services for families impacted by the co-occurring issues of child maltreatment and domestic violence.

Jennifer Smith, Director of Finance and Administration: Ms. Smith has over 20 years of experience working in the accounting and administrative fields and has been with Cornerstone for over 20 years.

Courtney Poja, Director of Advancement: Ms. Poja served as Cornerstone's Development Coordinator from 2006-2013. Prior to rejoining Cornerstone in 2015, Courtney served as an Associate Development Officer at the University of Minnesota Law School.

Colleen Schmitt, Director of Day One®: Ms. Schmitt has worked in the field of interpersonal violence for 33 years, in the areas of shelter services, youth, community advocacy, intervention, deaf awareness training, volunteer and community education and building collaborations.

Pamela Maldonado, Victim Advocacy Program Manager: For the past 20 years, Ms. Maldonado has been working to address family violence, sexual assault and poverty. As an advocate, supervisor and director of local programs and regional collaborations, she has extensive experience with best practices, public policy and social change.

Cheryl Kolb-Untinen, MS, LCPC, Community Services Manager: Ms. Kolb-Untinen has over 20 years of experience working with survivors of sexual and domestic violence in a variety of settings.

Patricia Ogbeide-Ihama, Human Resources Manager: Ms. Ogbeide-Ihama have over 15 years of Human Resources, training, and business management experience prior to joining Cornerstone. She is a certified Lean Six Sigma implementing Best Practices in education and healthcare environments.

In 2019, Cornerstone launched a Men's Council to create opportunities for men who care about the issues of domestic and sexual violence to help raise awareness and to take action. Many men are increasingly aware of how the women and girls in their lives have been impacted by these forms of abuse and are looking for opportunities to do more. From calling out sexism, to challenging unhealthy forms of masculinity that normalize violence and aggression, to questioning how they can be a better partner, father, or brother, men are realizing that they have a unique role and responsibility in helping to create safer communities that are free from interpersonal violence.
Also in 2019, Cornerstone converted to a new database, which was adopted by all staff at the beginning of the year. Our goal is to track more information about the participants we serve, including additional demographics and specifics about the services we provide. This enhanced ability to collect information will allow us to demonstrate the impact of Cornerstone's services, as well as to assess our programming and make any changes as necessary.
Cornerstone is excited to announce that we are now providing services out of a new outreach office space in North Minneapolis. This expansion in location will be primarily utilized by our general crime services program, but will also allow us to be available for advocacy and support for anyone who has experienced domestic violence, sexual violence or human trafficking. Over the past year, Cornerstone has expanded our service area in an effort to reduce barriers for families who live outside of suburban Hennepin County. We serve a significant number of victim/survivors living in Minneapolis who may have difficulty accessing transportation to our suburban offices.
As we move into 2020, Cornerstone is working to address the need for affordable housing among the families we serve. We know that our participants face challenges moving forward without a safe and stable place to live. We have recently launched our Rapid Rehousing programming, which will help families locate affordable housing, provide subsidies to help them with their rent and offer support services throughout the process.
In addition, stemming from our strategic planning process, Cornerstone has enhanced our focus on diversity, equity and inclusion work (DEI). We restructured our leadership team to create a new position called Advocacy and Diversity Coordinator, which focuses on creating and sustaining a culture that is diverse, equitable and inclusive both for participants and employees. We have also maintained an active Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee that is focused on developing key actions and metrics forward.  Throughout 2020, Cornerstone will be working with a third party expert in DEI issues to focus on making sure everyone in the organization has a voice.