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| About Us |
Mission Statement
The Haven Shelter & Services, Inc. is committed to preventing and eliminating all types of domestic violence and sexual assault within our service area, which includes Westmoreland, Richmond, Essex, Lancaster and Northumberland Counties. The primary focus of The Haven’s mission is to provide advocacy and shelter for identified victims of partner abuse and sexual assault as well as to provide support services to victims and their families. To greater further its mission, The Haven seeks to enhance public awareness of domestic violence and sexual assault through community outreach and education.
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History
The program was established in 1986 under the name of The Haven in Richmond County. The Haven opened its first door in September in 1987 as a furnished, one bedroom apartment able to house 7 persons from one family. It was run solely by volunteers from the Family Focus Board. Board members from the Department of Social Services provided intake and administration that first year. Additional services were provided by the organizations of other participating board members.
The second year of operation, the shelter moved to a large farmhouse owned by the county government. It expanded services to house two families of up to nine individuals and a part time administrator was employed.
By the third year, capacity was increased to three families of up to 13 individuals. A second bathroom, which is handicapped accessible, was added and a half time director was employed to administer the program, provide fundraising and outreach activities, and effect intake responsibilities.
During the fourth year, The Haven changed its policies to house 13 women and children without specifying the number of families, thereby truly expanding the number of people it could serve. Full time staff, both professional and volunteer were added, and community education and direct services to residents were incorporated into the programs' development. Services were expanded to include court advocacy.
In 1997, Sexual Assault services were added to the program and a part time Sexual Assault Program Coordinator was hired. These services have grown considerably, and are now provided by one full time coordinator and a part time advocate.
In 1999, The Haven broke away from The Family Focus Board to become an individual entity.
A new board was formed and the name of the program was changed to The Haven Shelter & Services, Inc.
In 2001, in response to the increased demand for assistance to women and children who are homeless for reasons other than family violence, The Haven changed it’s policy to provide shelter for longer periods of time to those families. Where previously, the policy allowed shelter for women who were homeless for reasons other than family violence for only a 24-hour period, the new policy extended that period to up to 2 weeks and longer if special circumstances created such a need.
In 2002, The Haven added two new positions: A Community Relations Coordinator to coordinate fundraising efforts and the volunteer program and a Vicitms Services Coordiantor.
In 2004, The Haven in cooperation with The Community Coordinating Council obtained funding to increase its prevention efforts. A contractual staff person was hired to coordinate a variety of prevention programs including Child Assault Prevention (CAP) for elementary age children; Healthy Dating Relationship Workshops for middle and high school youth; Break the Cycle, a program for adults about the effects of domestic violence on children; and Men Can Stop Violence Against Women for adult men.
Most recently, the increasing demand for emergency shelter and the deteriorating conditions of our current shelter facility have created the need to find a more suitable facility. Land for this purpose was donated in 2002 by William and Herb Carden. Rocco Triacarrico, a local architect donated the design of the concept for the new shelter. That concept was later made into a more formal plan by The Haven’s building committee and considerable expertise donated by Butch Olfin, a local contractor. The Haven began raising money to fund the construction of the shelter and local community members formed a committee to raise money for this purpose through an annual garden tour, Just Gardens.
In 2007, The Haven formally launced their capital campaign and began seeking donations from the community. A grant-writer was hired to research and submit grants on The Haven’s behalf for construction purposes. Later that year, P. F. Summers of Virginia donated labor and services and began construction of the new shelter. The Haven closed the old shelter and opened the new facility to residents on October 26, 2007.
Currently, The Haven maintains full-time positions for an Executive Director, an Advocacy Director, a Sexual Assault Program Coordinator, and Victims’ Services Coordinator. In addition, the Haven also employs a part-time Office Manager, Community Relations Coordinator, Childrens Services Coordinator, Hispanic Services Coordinator and five shelter managers. |
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