Safe Haven Family Shelter is a family homelessness organization that not only provides care for the homeless but also offers programs to get families out of poverty.
Community Relations Manager Stephanie Tinnell, who is also a Lipscomb grad, said the shelter was originally able to house five families at a time, but the shelter is looking to double the occupancy in the next year.
“This summer we will expand to ten families,” Tinnell said. The shelter is currently in the process of renovating the facility, so they are in a temporary location, but the renovations should bring an abundant amount of help to the shelter, she explained. “We are going to double in capacity, so we can expand our programs.”
One of the main programs Safe Haven is excited about expanding is its therapy wing. Safe Haven offers different kinds of therapy programs for adults as well as children.
“One of the biggest components of family homelessness is emotional and physical abuse, and we want to help the families get through that and on their own again,” Tinnell said.
The plans for expansion include group therapy and a play therapy area that will be used alongside the therapy programs that are already in place. Safe Haven’s programs are designed to aid and benefit the families who come to them for help, but Tinnell says the families are not the only ones who benefit.
Tinnell said her job is mainly to get word out to the public about Safe Haven and different events the shelter hosts, but she is also a volunteer who loves working with the children.
“Making sure the children have a future is one of the main reasons I am here,” Tinnell said.
Tinnell loves working with the children and seeing them grow and make relationships while at the shelter. The families that go through the programs are also a huge inspiration Tinnell said.
“To see the successes of the families, what they have gone through, and then to see them come back being successful with the tools we have given them is great.”
Safe Haven is an organization that needs donations to operate, and one of its most successful fundraisers, Hike for the Homeless, is happening this coming Saturday. All the money raised goes to support the programs at the shelter as well as the shelter itself.
“The cycle of poverty starts with the parents, and we want to help these families make it to the next level out of poverty,” Tinnell. “That is what we are trying to achieve.”
If you are interested in supporting Safe Haven, you can donate money or volunteer your time. To volunteer at Safe Haven, visit the website or contact Stephanie Tinnell at stinnell@safehaven.org.