Better Together: Safe Horizon
What role do each of you play in Safe Horizon?
Stella and I are on the fundraising team. Stella serves as the Vice President of Institutional Advancement/Development, while Hazel is a Corporate Partnerships & Engagement Manager. We’re lucky enough to collaborate with our talented and hardworking colleagues throughout the organization to identify needs and determine new initiatives, and we partner with folks like you to help us meet our mission.
Could you please tell us more about Safe Horizon’s mission?
Safe Horizon is the nation’s leading anti-violence organization, and we partner with survivors for their safety. People who come through our doors have experienced domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault, human trafficking, and/or youth homelessness. Our advocates work with them to ensure they can heal, find safety, and pursue justice.
Could you please tell us what Safe Horizon is doing during this crisis?
During this crisis, Safe Horizon has been working intently to help ensure survivors are safe and have access to resources they need. As some may know, survivors of violence face even greater risks to their safety and healing in times like these. In response, Safe Horizon has transitioned many of our programs to be virtual, so we can still offer as many services as possible to survivors across the city. Moreover, many of our fantastic colleagues are keeping our essential client-facing programs going at this time. About 250 Safe Horizon advocates have been traveling onsite to keep the doors open at our Streetwork drop-in centers and overnight shelter for homeless young people, our eight Domestic Violence Shelters and five Child Advocacy Centers across the five boroughs, and our three 24/7 hotlines for survivors of domestic violence, crime, rape, and sexual assault. We recognize that current circumstances may complicate survivors’ journey to safety, so we’re doing everything to preserve essential programs and services.
What makes your team better together?
We’re lucky enough to work with truly caring, hardworking, and empathic people throughout our organization. During this very difficult time, everyone has stepped up to support each other in various ways. From our IT team working around the clock to equip folks with technology they need to work remotely, to our facilities team ensuring essential colleagues have the PPE they need onsite, the Safe Horizon community has really come together to keep each other safe and to ensure we’re still able to work with survivors. Better together is really close to our hearts.
Do you have any nail connection memories?
Every October, Safe Horizon runs an awareness campaign, #PutTheNailinIt, in observance of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. We ask folks to paint their ring finger purple to shed light on this urgent topic and how to help end the silence around it. This immensely powerful campaign unites survivors, advocates, and allies in solidarity to make a violence-free future possible.
How do you press reset and relax?
Stella loves to take long walks in the park to breathe in fresh air, while Hazel de-stresses by caring for her many houseplants and her two-year-old pup.
