Providing shelter in the cold: Safe Haven’s cure for homelessness and domestic violence

When leaves start to change, cold weather is ahead. People experiencing homelessness are impacted more than most by seasonal changes, especially in the drudge of the Northland’s winter. Safe Haven is a shelter where people experiencing homelessness are provided a place. They specialize in helping domestic violence victims.

“When the weather gets so cold, we see anecdotally two different things. We’ll see either fewer people looking to come into our shelter because they are concerned about, you know, leaving a roof over their head during such cold temperatures. And then the other part of the work that we do at our resource center is just walk in services,” says Brittany Robb, Executive director of Safe Haven.

According to Robb, for domestic violence survivors it is sometimes safer for them in the moment to stay at home and stay with an abusive partner because they are unsure or they are afraid to come into the shelter.

“It would be a first time experience for them or, you know, they have some other barrier that they’re concerned about like long term homelessness,” continues Robb.

“For some other folks, they’re like, oh, that’s it. I got to get out of here… and we’ll get the call from them at that time. So it really is, you know, a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to what decisions people are making for their own safety,” finishes Robb.

In addition to domestic violence survivors, Safe Haven also provides shelter for folks struggling with substance use, mental health issues and a plethora of other criteria.

Safe Haven’s Hotline: 218-728-6481

Safe Haven’s website: http://safehavenshelter.org/