Ornament made last year by a house resident describing herself

The holidays can be especially difficult for those who are managing the experience of violence in their lives. Family traditions can be disrupted as survivors attempt to create a safer environment for their families. Survivors often struggle to provide joy and a sense of normalcy in situations that can be unsafe.

You can help honor the courage, strength, resilience and spirit of the brave persons surviving intimate partner and sexual violence in our community. Here are some ways you can show your support this holiday season:

Donate Bus Tickets: Bus tickets are essential for survivors to access basic needs and move forward in their lives. They provide crucial transportation assistance to medical appointments, employment and more. Bus tickets are preferred in $5 denominations and can be picked up at any Kroger Customer Service desk in the area.

Gift Cards to Make the Holiday Season Brighter: Gift cards in any denomination to grocery stores and discount stores (Target, Walmart and CVS are most convenient for those we serve) are needed. Grocery store gift cards provide food and medicine to families seeking assistance from Safe Harbor. These help survivors and their families meet their basic needs so they can begin their healing.

Gift cards to retailers can provide last minute holiday gifts to families seeking assistance from Safe Harbor after our formal holiday adoption program has concluded. This happens every year. Families are so grateful to be able to provide gifts to their children as they seek safety and assistance from Safe Harbor.

Holiday Meals: Holiday meals are a wonderful way to contribute to the healing community created in Safe Harbor’s Safe Houses program. Safe Harbor operates an emergency and two transitional houses. Families seeking assistance may be isolated or excluded from their holiday traditions. A holiday meal is a wonderful way to show your support for a family’s healing and safety. Meals can be fresh or frozen and enough to feed 8-10 people.

Contact Jodi Leonard (jodi@safeharborshelter.com or 804-249-9470 X 17) to help!

Please remember us throughout the year as well.  The families we serve have needs year-round – not just during the holiday season.  For more ways to help visit our website at https://safeharborshelter.com/get-involved/help-us-thrive/host-a-drive/.

Thank you for your support! Together, we are making RVA a more loving community.