Maria's Voice urges Chaska leaders to use simple, safe steps to prevent domestic abuse

Alyssa Ymelt of Maria's Voice told the Chaska City Commission on June 26 that the nonprofit uses a public‑health, prevention model to reduce domestic abuse and urged city leaders and residents to adopt small, safe actions that can help people at risk. "You can be Maria's voice," Ymelt said, describing straightforward steps such as offering a listening ear and handing out resource cards that link people to professional hotlines.

Ymelt framed Maria's Voice's work around the death of her daughter Maria and said the organization follows CDC‑recommended prevention strategies. She described three core program areas — adult education, youth programming built around "Rocky" the organization's therapy dog, and a men's initiative called Bold Voices — and said the group focuses on awareness, education and safe action. "We follow models that have prevented smoking…we follow the models the CDC has listed for prevention education," she said.

Ymelt provided program details and outreach methods. She said Maria's Voice redesigned public education materials to be readable at lower grade levels, distributes bathroom tear‑off resource sheets (in English and Spanish) and small wallet cards people can carry discreetly, and places billboards that list common signs of abuse. She noted recent recognition for the group's work, saying the organization's educational video won a Gold Telly award and that the group has received multiple Purple Ribbon Awards.

On scope and funding, Ymelt said Maria's Voice is small — about five part‑time employees — but reaches large audiences through partnerships and grants. She said the organization educated more than 40,000 parishioners through a 2025 grant and estimated its total educational reach last year exceeded one million people. Ymelt also said the nonprofit has recently secured a second federal grant in the district that includes Chaska.

Commissioners asked for local statistics and guidance. Ymelt replied that hotlines and some reporting sources cannot always localize callers and that she did not have precise Carver County or Chaska call counts available. She emphasized low‑risk, supportive actions for the public: listen without judgment, offer a resource card and encourage a professional hotline or a lethality assessment rather than confronting an abuser. "Your action is to hand them a resource. And your action is to be friendly, not judgmental," she said.

Ymelt invited commissioners to host materials, screen the 15‑minute video and consider volunteering for Bold Voices. The commission thanked her and expressed interest in future seminars or a return visit to deliver more in‑depth training.

The presentation closed with a request that commissioners help circulate tear‑off sheets and cards in public restrooms, churches and community spaces and with an offer to coordinate follow‑up educational sessions for local schools or civic groups.

Next steps: commissioners discussed possible follow‑up training and agreed to consider hosting materials at upcoming community events such as River City Days.