MassDevelopment

Newburyport Crisis Center Uses MassDevelopment Loan to Install New Equipment


June 30, 2016


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Meggie Quackenbush, MassDevelopment, 617-330-2011 & 857-208-2777
mquackenbush@massdevelopment.com

Suzanne C. Dubus, Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center, 978-465-0999
scdubus@jeannegeigercrisiscenter.org

MassDevelopment has issued a $97,000 TechDollars loan to the Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center in Newburyport, a nationally recognized leader in the effort to end domestic violence and provide care for victims. The Center is using loan proceeds to upgrade its telephone system and install a new computer system. The TechDollars program offers loans to nonprofit organizations to install technology equipment.

“The Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center provides the Newburyport area with critical support and counseling services,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Marty Jones. “I’m pleased this MassDevelopment loan will help the Center continue the advocacy work for which it is known and admired.”

For almost 35 years, the Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center (JGCC) has provided advocacy and support services to families and communities in greater Newburyport. Its mission is to empower individuals and engage communities to end domestic violence. With a staff of 29 full and part-time employees, JGCC provides a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week crisis hotline, legal advocacy, emergency and transitional shelter, and counseling and support to victims of domestic violence. In 2015 alone, the Center helped more than 1,200 victims of domestic violence, both adults and children.

“This is such a great investment in the operations of the Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center,” said JGCC CEO Suzanne C. Dubus. “We have been limping with very dated systems for years and that hinders our ability to create efficiencies and transparency. This loan will allow us to centralize our information and get our work done more quickly.” 

MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development agency, works with businesses, nonprofits, financial institutions, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY2015, MassDevelopment financed or managed 294 projects generating investment of more than $2.5 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are projected to create about 6,100 jobs and build or rehabilitate about 2,000 residential units.