Safe Haven provides loving, secure place to live

Homelessness knows no age differences or gender, and under the worst circumstances, could happen to many families.

Safe Haven Shelter for Women and Children provides a loving and secure environment for women and their children who have faced the loss of a place to live. There are as many stories of the circumstances of homelessness are there are women who are being served at the shelter.

Sarah is one such story. “My brother and I were raised by parents who both abused drugs. We were pushed from one parent to the other until we were finally placed in a children’s home. When we aged out of the home, my brother drifted away and I began abusing drugs,” Sarah said.

“I am 41 years old now, and have two daughters, one of whom is a drug abuser. I am an outpatient now at Quapaw House, I have a job but have not had a place to live, so I have been staying wherever I could,” she said.

“A co-worker told me about the Garage Church and recommended I go there, and that several residents of Safe Haven attend every Sunday. That next week I walked several blocks to the shelter and attended church with the women, who quickly became my friends. They encouraged me to apply for a spot at Safe Haven, and I was excepted,” Sarah said.

“I have never felt so cared for, so safe and secure. For the first time in my life, I feel that I am worth saving.”

Safe Haven collaborates with several other nonprofit organizations to provide opportunities for their residents to turn their lives around and become productive members of the community. According to board Chairwoman Amy Thomason, the shelter recently partnered with Quapaw House to provide housing to women who have been through recovery and made the commitment to change their lives. Safe Haven still accepts women and children who are homeless due to circumstances other than drug abuse. Women can remain in the shelter for up to two years as they rebuild their lives.

Safe Haven operates a thrift shop at 3907 Central Ave. in the South Park Shopping Center, where a $5 bag sale of fall and winter items is in progress. Please call the thrift shop at 501538-6604 to volunteer or make donations of items. Financial donations for the shelter are also accepted at the thrift shop, or mail to Safe Haven Shelter for Women and Children PO Box 20333, Hot Springs AR. 71903, or please call 501-701-8017.