HOME ON THE HORIZON T H E S A F E H AV E N N E W S L E T T E R | Q 4 2 0 2 1
Safe Haven Continues to Adapt and Give More Families a Place to Call Home PAGE 2
Housing Partnerships Increase Ability to Serve More Families PAGE 3
Volunteers Treat Kids to Fun & Enrichment PAGE 3
safehaven.org Q4 2021
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Safe Haven Continues to Adapt and Give More Families a Place to Call Home Jim Shulman, CEO
What an interesting time to take the lead at Safe Haven Family Shelter: we are still finding our way through a deadly pandemic, there is a serious affordable housing shortage in our city, and there are more and more families in need of assistance. When I started as CEO in June, I was inspired by what I found: an agency that was aggressively addressing these challenging circumstances head on. By being adaptable, more families were getting sheltered, more families were being placed in permanent housing (and at a faster rate), and more kids were getting the help they needed to successfully get back into the classroom. Safe Haven has, for years, done some pretty amazing work. It has continued to do that even during the pandemic. And our goal, following through with our mission, is to do even more. This year we served 265 families, housed 120 families, provided 210 employment sessions and have a success rate of 86% for families remaining in stable housing for a year or more. More than just numbers, these stats represent home, stability, and often safety for families. With the help of other agencies engaged in supporting individuals experiencing homelessness, we are starting to make some headway in providing meaningful change in our city. We are focused on making a true and measurable difference in the way Nashville addresses the issue of homelessness. Safe Haven, as the agency at the table that is fully engaged in helping families experiencing homelessness, is committed to that effort.
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We are also committed to achieving a solution to manage the issue of family homelessness in Davidson County. This involves a faster response time in sheltering families and providing even more services so that our families get what they need to become independent.
120 HOUSED
572
CHILDREN SERVED
We are so appreciative of you and your efforts to help us. With your assistance and support , we remain committed to ending family homelessness. Thank you for being a part of our Safe Haven family.
265 FA M I L I E S SERVED
210
E M P L OY M E N T SESSIONS
86% SUCCESS R AT E
With your help,
SAFE HAV EN WAS ABLE TO SERV E 265 FAM IL IE S IN 20 21 .
THE SAFE HAVEN NEWSLETTER
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Housing Partnerships Increase Ability to Serve More Families Brittney Brown, Housing Director
Safe Haven Family Shelter is proud to be a part of The Family Collective (TFC), group of agencies across five counties in Middle Tennessee, working under the support of the United Way of Greater Nashville, to prevent and end family homelessness in our communities. We recently began a housing pilot program with St. Luke’s, a partner in The Family Collective, to help lower barrier families get into housing. These families often just need a little financial assistance to get back into housing. We were able house the first family in just four days! This family included a single mom with two daughters who is working hard as an assistant manager at a local
retail store. They were staying in a small one-bedroom apartment with many other family members, and it was not a great environment for her or her children. By providing some financial assistance and a rental step-down plan, Safe Haven was able to help this family get an apartment near the mom’s place of employment. This mom’s greatest barrier to housing was having all the money required to get into her own apartment, which is very a common barrier with the rising rental rates in Nashville. She and her children are thriving and remain stably housed. We are so grateful for the opportunity to serve this amazing mom and her children. It was wonderful to partner with St Luke’s in this walk alongside this family.
Volunteers Treat Kids to Fun & Enrichment Volunteers and donors play a key role in our Children’s Program by helping to provide enrichment experiences and activities. One example is our recent ‘Trunk or Treat’ held for Safe Haven families. Volunteers from the Junior League, Safe Haven Young Professionals Council and more made sure families had a safe opportunity to trick or treat with their little ones.
the gifts and decorate for the child. A Safe Haven parent recently said, “I’ve never wrapped any birthday presents before. I’m going to do it this time and have them all set out when she wakes up in the morning. She’ll be so surprised. I’m already surprised.” For more information about the Birthday Club including how to join with your own monthly donation, visit safehaven.org.
Another example is our Birthday Club, a recurring donation program started by Safe Haven’s Young Professionals Council. The monthly donations support the children’s program and help provide birthdays to children in Safe Haven’s program. Birthday boxes are delivered to the family so that the parent(s) can wrap
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Hitting the Dance Floor for Safe Haven With a roaring 20s theme that brought out all the glitz and glamour, the much-anticipated 12th annual Dancing for Safe Haven took place on October 30 raising a twoyear total of $805,000. The event, presented by Community Health Systems, HCA Healthcare|TriStar Health, K&L Gates, paired five Nashville notables with professional ballroom dancers who competed for Audience Favorite, Judges’ Favorite, and Fundraising Favorite. Thank you to our amazing star dancers who took the dance floor by storm to help raise money and awareness for Safe Haven: Harry L. Allen, Jennifer Osland Hillen, Kearstin Patterson (Judges’ Favorite), Justin Pitt (Audience & Fundraising Favorite), and Candice Reed. At the event, the Safe Haven Hero Award was presented to the Taqueria del Sol Team for their dedication and support in raising over $250,000 at their annual A Taqueria Holiday event. Thank you to our event cochairs, Kyle Allen, Karen Hingtgen, and Ken Williamson, and to all of the judges, emcees, sponsors,
volunteers, guests and donors for making this event such a success! Visit dancingforsafehaven.org for more information about the event and mark your calendars for the 13th annual Dancing for Safe Haven on May 21, 2022.
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!
FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: KEN WILLIAMSON (SAFE HAVEN BOARD PRESIDENT), TONY HALLIGAN (TAQUERIA DEL SOL), WILL SPIVA (TAQUERIA DEL SOL), JIM SHULMAN (SAFE HAVEN CEO).
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THE SAFE HAVEN NEWSLETTER
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Total Wine & More Grand Opening Benefits Safe Haven Thank you to Total Wine & More Brentwood for selecting Safe Haven as their charity of choice to benefit from their Grand Opening Weekend. We were honored to be a part of the Total Wine & More preview party and ribbon-cutting ceremony on November 17. New patrons and Safe Haven supporters enjoyed hors d’ oeuvres, drinks and live music at the beautiful event hosted by the Total Wine Team. We are incredibly grateful for this new partnership, and for their donation of 10% of wine sales from November 18 to November 21, resulting in a $35,756 gift to Safe Haven. Total Wine & More may be new to Brentwood, but they have already opened their hearts to the vision of ending family homelessness, and have become a part of the Safe Haven family of supporters.
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Hundreds “Hiked Their Way” for Safe Haven With your incredible support and generosity, the 17th annual Hike for Safe Haven raised over $150,000! We loved seeing social media flooded with photos of hiking fun! Your efforts will help give more families at Safe Haven a place to call home. We appreciate the leadership and support of our co-chairs, Richard Courtney, Lisa Estrada, and Laura Smith. Thank you to presenting sponsors Amazon, CURB, and LifePoint Health.
Each year, we award the Golden Boot to the team and individual who raises the most money. This year, Richard Courtney raised over $33,000 and won the individual award. The LifePoint High Five Hikers, led by team captain, Lisa Estrada, earned the team award. And the Lipscomb Academy 5th Graders took home the youth award raising just over $2,500!
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!
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THE SAFE HAVEN NEWSLETTER
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Holiday Giving at Safe Haven There are several ways for our generous community of supporters to give families a festive feeling as they celebrate being HOME for the holidays! Visit safehaven.org for more information and opportunities.
MAKE A DONATION:
DONATE YOUR HOLIDAY:
SEND HOLIDAY E-CARDS:
Gifts of any amount will ensure more families have a place to call home this holiday season and beyond!
Set up a holiday page and send the link to your colleagues, friends and family to ask that instead of cards or gifts this year, they donate on your page to support the families at Safe Haven. This also makes a great corporate or faith-based holiday giving opportunity.
Make a donation to Safe Haven in honor of your clients, colleagues, friends and family. Donate $10 or more, and we will send the recipient an electronic card via email recognizing your donation in his or her name. Makes a great corporate gift.
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15th Annual Hike forWelcome Homeless New Staff Breaks Record Please help us welcome the following new staff members to the Safe Haven team:
www.safehaven.com
w w w . s a f e h a v e n . o r g
Mac Hampton, Rapid Rehousing Case Manager Brittany King, Rapid Rehousing Case Manager Our hearts and spirits were warmed by the generosity and support of Khyesha Leverett, everyone with the 15th Rapidinvolved Rehousing Case Manager Annual Hike for the Homeless presented Curb Records, First Sarah by Peacock, Farmers Bank and Assistant Hippie Radio. Special Administrative thanks to our Hike Co-Chairs Richard Beccaand Teaster, Courtney Kerry Brock. More than Assistant1,000Office people joined Holiday us at the Hike, (part-time) and together, we raised over $155,000, more than we have ever before. What an incredible way to mark this special 15th anniversary of the event! Visit hike4homeless.org to learn more about the 15th Annual Hike for the Homeless. Thank you to our 2019 Hike for the Homeless sponsors: Presenting Sponsors: Curb Records First Farmers Hippie Radio Pathway Sponsors: Dayspring Farm Joni Werthan of Warioto Farm Trailhead Sponsors: Bone McAllester Norton Cerner Chris Young Community Health Systems Data Blue- Dell EMC Dickinson Wright Fridrich & Clark Ingram Express Services Messer MP& F Strategic Communications Richard Courtney, Realtor SunTrust Swiftwick Staffing as a Mission
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