Safe Haven Shelter for Battered Women

Safe Haven Shelter and Resource Center believes that violence against women is rooted deep within our culture. It originates from within the same social fabric of institutional oppression, which spawns racism, ageism, sexism, heterosexism, classism, religious bigotry and discrimination against people who have disabilities.

Safe Haven Shelter and Resource Center seeks to strike a balance between offering services to diverse victims while working toward the erosion of the cultural facilitators of battering. We are committed to providing shelter, safety and advocacy for the individual victims of battering. At the same time, we understand the necessity of action to move toward the elimination of social oppression and battering of women.

Because violence against women is so deeply rooted in our culture, we recognize the need for a multi-faceted approach to the issue, including development of an effective response to the criminal justice, medical, religious, and social systems. We believe it is necessary to raise community awareness through publicizing the issue and through education in our schools and community organizations.

Finally, we recognize that every person carries the cultural seed out of which oppression rises. We believe that each of us as individuals must take responsibility to look within ourselves to identify our own attachment to beliefs and values which justify another’s oppression. We believe that change must start there, within ourselves.

Safe Haven has played a prominent role in the battered women’s movement since the very beginning. Started on March 1st 1978, Safe Haven Shelter (formerly known as the Women’s Coalition) has grown into a 39-bed facility that houses a hotline as well as community education and volunteer programs. Safe Haven Resource Center is the headquarters for our legal advocacy program, self-sufficiency program, and community partnerships.

Our mission at Safe Haven is to provide safety, space to heal, advocacy and empowerment for women, children and all survivors of domestic violence.

Our core values are Safety, Equity, Teamwork, Empowerment and Compassion.

Safe Haven seeks to strike a balance between offering services to diverse victims while working toward the erosion of the cultural facilitators. We are committed to providing shelter, safety and advocacy for the individual victims and survivors of domestic violence. At the same time, we understand the necessity of action to move toward the elimination of social oppression of women and gender minorities.

24-Hour Crisis Hotline:
Calls for help from survivors of domestic violence are answered around-the-clock; no call goes unanswered.

Emergency Shelter:
The primary purpose of the shelter facility is to provide shelter, food, and safety in a supportive environment to those who identify as women, their children and their pets who have been abused. Shelter guests are provided all of the basic necessities of daily life including meals, transportation, etc.

Legal Advocacy:
The Legal Advocacy Program provides services to victims and survivors staying at the shelter and those in the community that are not staying at the shelter. Services include on-call advocacy follow-up to all arrests, transportation (if needed) and support advocacy for court hearings, assistance in gathering and documenting evidence in criminal and civil cases (photos of injuries), a communication network linking survivors with probation officers, prosecuting attorneys, and law enforcement and assistance with Orders for Protection and Harassment Orders.

Safe Haven Shelter and Resource Center serves a seven-county area in northern Minnesota, including St. Louis, Koochiching, Aitkin, Lake, Carlton, Itasca and Cook counties. We provide services and education for more than 1,500 adults and children annually. We also accept referrals from other regions.

Annually at Safe Haven...
1,500+ crisis calls for help are answered.
650+ connections with law enforcement are made following domestic violence arrests.
500+ women and children are temporarily housed in our Shelter.
1,500+ survivors visit the Resource Center seeking help and support.

Annual statistical data shows that our survivors come from all walks of life:
14% American Indian
20% African American
2% Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
18% Multiracial
46% White
61% of survivors fall between the ages of 25-59
90% of survivors identify as female

Safe Haven Shelter and Resource Center serves a seven-county area in northern Minnesota, including St. Louis, Koochiching, Aitkin, Lake, Carlton, Itasca and Cook counties. We provide services and education for more than 1,500 adults and children annually. We also accept referrals from other regions.

Safe Haven employs a committed team of 17 full time and 12 part time staff, 25 of whom provide direct service to our clients. Our agency's dedicated Board of Directors is comprised of 14 community leaders. We enjoy the support of 50+ volunteers annually.

Safe Haven relies on the strong network of community partners to provide the most comprehensive service possible to survivors of domestic violence, primarily (but not limited to):
The Duluth Police Department
City and County Prosecutors & Personnel
PAVSA
DAIP
AICHO
Damiano Center
Salvation Army
HDC, Accend & Nystrom
CASDA (Superior, WI)

At the close of our most recent reporting year, we recognized the following accomplishments:

Temporary, emergency shelter was provided to 509 women and their children (unduplicated).

At program exit, 140 households (adults plus children if there are children in the household) were housed, a total of 75% of the total number of households served.

The average length of stay at Safe Haven was 22 days.

674 individuals will receive advocacy following the arrest or law enforcement intervention with their abusive partner.

Legal advocacy was provided to 268 survivors of domestic violence through support in writing Orders for Protection and/or appearing with victims in court hearings related to domestic violence.

129 survivors of domestic violence attended support groups offered at our Resource Center, and an additional 150 women attended gender-specific support groups facilitated by Safe Haven staff at community sites.

Our Community Education program reached 53 unique groups, organizations, businesses, schools, colleges or universities and provided informational lectures and interactive seminars about domestic violence.

We hosted 200 volunteers for a total of 4,191 volunteer hours in our agency.