TESTIMONIALS
It takes so many to help families restore their lives. A 12 year old girl wrote the following as her family exited one of the SafeHaven shelters:
I’m happy that we’ve been helped so much. We have been given a home, food, a bed, and much more. I wish I could return the favor in some way. Without Julie my mom would be lost. Without Scott we’d be starving! Without Sarah my anger would be bottled up inside and probably would have come out in a bad way. Thank you everyone!”
Thank you for helping SafeHaven of Tarrant County start every day with hope that lives will be saved and the cycle of violence broken. Serena, a nine year old girl staying at SafeHaven, wrote a poem that substantiates the importance of support generated by Mid-Cities SOS and the Celebrity Chefs event:
We’re finally at peace.
We’re safe and warm,
None of us harmed,
Nor alarmed.
We’re at peace in bed,
And in the morning,
We can start the day again.
She’s in a high chair, oatmeal covering her face. He’s running full steam down the hall, out to the playground and a quick descent down the bright yellow slide. She’s doing homework; he’s creating a picture of his family. Normal childhood activities all happening at both of SafeHaven’s shelters. But these children haven’t experienced a normal childhood. Instead, they are witnesses of cruelty. Before coming to SafeHaven, they hid in closets, screamed loudly for their father to quit hurting their mother and often forced themselves to stay awake just in case. . . .
These are the children Mid-Cities SOS helps protect year in and year out. These are the children you protect tonight by participating in their CELEBRITY CHEFS event. All children deserve safety. They deserve to live without fear and feel secure. They deserve to enjoy childhood. SafeHaven of Tarrant County provides these opportunities to child victims of domestic violence through our shelters and non-residential programs like Camp Heart and SafeLiving.
The board, staff and volunteers of SafeHaven are extraordinarily grateful for over 25 years of support from the Mid-Cities SOS. As a result of this partnership, children in our shelters today will break the cycle of domestic abuse for the next generation. Thank you for joining with the Mid-Cities SOS to help SafeHaven give children back their childhood and create healthy families for tomorrow.
They fly by on bikes, toddle through malls, and make messes at fast food restaurants. Teens giggle at the movies and look large running down football fields. Regardless of their age, they all need love and safety and caring parents. No, they deserve love and safety and caring parents.
SafeHaven believes in children. We believe it’s important to create opportunities for love and safety. We believe children thrive in that environment. That’s why you hear laughter in our shelter gym, see children daring to slide on the playground’s “big” slide and share their euphoria when they successfully hit a baseball for the very first time.
As you observe children playing on our grounds, you don’t suspect the fear they’ve experienced. However, their artwork speaks articulately about their painful journey. Your support ensures they can begin a new journey, a safe journey to a hopeful future.
Thank you for making a difference in the lives of children who don’t know your names, but are grateful for your loving support. SafeHaven is honored to count the Mid-Cities SOS and each of you as our partner in ending domestic violence.
