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North Shore Horizons was formed in 1980 in order to serve individuals and families impacted by domestic violence and sexual assault in Lake County and the surrounding area. We received our nonprofit status in 1981.
In its infancy, North Shore Horizons provided face-to-face individual and group support and referral to sexual assault and domestic victims. Since that time, North Shore Horizons has expanded its menu of services to also include:
· 24-hour crisis services
· Legal advocacy
· Intimate Partner Abuse Advocacy
· Sexual Assault Advocacy
· Resources and Referrals
· Community Outreach and Education
· Supportive Housing (New Beginnings, LLC)
· Development and Organization of a Coordinated
· Community Response Team (CCRT) in Lake County
· Participation on the Lake County Sex Trafficking Task
Force
· A Safe Exchange and Supervised Visitation program
· Men’s Nonviolence Intervention Education
We provide community education, outreach, and trauma-informed services to those impacted by domestic and sexual violence.
Safety
Trustworthiness and transparency
Collaboration and mutuality
Empowerment and choice
Inclusivity
Violence Free Minnesota, the coalition to end relationship abuse, remembers Samantha Koehne, the 17th confirmed victim of intimate partner homicide in Minnesota in 2024.
Samantha Koehne, 38, died as a result of probable asphyxia on November 2, 2024, in a home in Edgerton. Joseph Benson, 35, described as Samantha’s boyfriend, is charged with second-degree murder. Police were called to the home in Edgerton on November 2nd, where Samantha and Benson were housesitting, after Benson told the homeowner he had killed Samantha. Police found Samantha with a cord wrapped around her legs and across her body. They also found a video of Benson following Samantha, in which she showed the camera bruises on her face that she stated were from him beating her.
Samantha Koehne, also known as “Panda,” was from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and was described by many people as an “amazing friend” who “brought light and joy into a room no matter what.” Multiple people described her as having a beautiful laugh. We remember Samantha Koehne.
Learn more here: https://www.vfmn.org/we-remember #WeRememberMN
Violence Free Minnesota, the coalition to end relationship abuse, remembers Lyle Maske, the 16th confirmed victim of domestic violence-related homicide in Minnesota in 2024.
Lyle Maske, 62, was fatally shot in Brainerd on November 1, 2024, after intervening in a domestic violence incident. Chad Aanerud, 35, is charged with two counts of second-degree murder, one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, five counts of kidnapping, two counts of second degree
assault, one count of first-degree arson, and one count of theft. Aanerud is suspected of sexually assaulting his pregnant ex-girlfriend in Brainerd on or around the night of October 31st after threatening to shoot her children if she did not engage in sexual activity. He then began dumping gasoline on her family members’ home, which later burned to the ground, and began taking firearms from the home. His ex-girlfriend asked her children to go down the road to Lyle’s home to ask for help.
Aanerud fatally shot Lyle when he arrived to intervene. Aanerud then kidnapped his ex-girlfriend and her children at gunpoint and fled by vehicle as a statewide Amber Alert was sent out. He was eventually arrested on the morning of November 1st and his ex-girlfriend and children were recovered. Aanerud was legally prohibited from possessing firearms at the time he killed Lyle and had a felony conviction for threats of violence against an ex-girlfriend in 2021.
Lyle Maske, who was killed while intervening in a domestic violence incident, was described as “generous, compassionate, and helpful,” a “beautiful person inside and out,” and someone who “helped anybody and everybody and never asked for anything in return.”
Lyle leaves behind four children and was also a grandfather.
There is an option for donations available for Lyle Maske's funeral services. The donations button is listed on his obituary page at https://www.brenny.com/obituaries/lyle-maske
Learn more here: https://www.vfmn.org/we-remember #WeRememberMN
Violence Free Minnesota, the coalition to end relationship abuse, remembers Damara Alexis Kirkland, the 15th confirmed victim of intimate partner homicide in Minnesota in 2024.
Damara Alexis Kirkland, 35, was shot and killed in her North End St. Paul apartment on October 19, 2024. Kirkland’s ex-husband, Mychel Stowers, 36, is charged with intentional second-degree
murder of Damara, and second-degree murder of an unborn child. Damara was estimated to be eight to nine weeks pregnant. Police found Damara lying in her bedroom on the night of October 19 after residents reported gunshots. Stowers also shot a man in the leg and stole his car shortly after killing Damara. On the day of the shooting, Stowers had been granted a pass to visit Damara from the halfway house he was living in. Damara and Stowers, who had married in December 2021, were
in the middle of a divorce initiated in June. At the time of this writing, Stowers has not turned himself in.
Learn more here: https://www.vfmn.org/we-remember #WeRememberMN
Violence Free Minnesota, the coalition to end relationship abuse, remembers Jerome (Jerry) Skluzacek, the 14th confirmed victim of intimate partner homicide in Minnesota in 2024.
Jerome (Jerry) Skluzacek, 55, was shot and killed during an attempted carjacking on a highway near Willmar on October 22nd, 2024. Ameer Matariyeh, 25, is charged with second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, and fleeing police. Early in the afternoon of October 22nd, police were dispatched to a domestic violence call at an apartment in Minneapolis, where Matariyeh had fired gunshots from a balcony at his ex-girlfriend and her current boyfriend, who were there attempting to retrieve some of her belongings. They were not hit by the gunfire. Matariyeh is the father of his ex-girlfriend’s child. At some point Matariyeh left the apartment and fled the scene by vehicle as crisis negotiators reached him by phone. Matariyeh eventually shot and wounded a man at a home near Lake Lillian, who is expected to survive, before shooting and
killing Jerry near Willmar and being taken into custody. Jerome (Jerry) Skluzacek, of New London, leaves behind a fiancée and at least two children.
Jerry was described as someone who was “always willing to help people,” had a good sense of humor, and could “pretty much fix anything.”
Learn more here: https://www.vfmn.org/we-remember #WeRememberMN
Thank you for your continued support.
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We are a nonprofit organization committed to providing advocacy and support to victims of Intimate Partner Abuse and Sexual Violence.
Volunteer support is vital to our organization. Their support of our mission and values helps us achieve our goals of bringing Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Assault awareness to our community of through outreach events. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please contact us.
Whether you help through monetary donations, volunteering your time, or spreading our mission through word-of-mouth, THANK YOU! We couldn't accomplish our goals without the help of supporters like you.