Author Archive

“Hope” is a Safe Harbor client.  She’s the mom of a 15-year-old girl with the dream of graduating from college and a 7-year-old boy with a shy but friendly smile. 

“Hope” is a survivor of domestic violence. She and her children have overcome obstacles in her journey from victim to survivor.  Hope is strong, hard-working, tireless.  In the past several years, Hope has:

- Fled from a dangerously abusive home with nothing but the clothes on her back and her 2 children in tow.
- Secured safe emergency shelter for herself and her children at Safe Harbor
- Enrolled her children in new schools to keep them safe
- Fought a long and hard legal battle in securing a divorce and custody of her children
- Survived breast cancer
- Participated in ongoing counseling and case management at Safe Harbor
- Secured transitional housing at Safe Harbor for herself and her children to continue working towards financial independence

Hope has taken so many steps towards healing for herself and her children.  Today, one thing holds her back.  Hope’s 20-year-old van is no longer running.  A reliable car is essential for Hope to drive her children to school, to go to medical appointments and to provide groceries and other essential items for her family. 

If you have a reliable vehicle that you are able to donate to Safe Harbor for Hope, please contact us at info@safeharborsc.org or 864.467.1177, ext. 10 today.  Your donation is tax-deductible, and you can provide Hope and her family with a new life and a fresh start.

By Julieta Barcaglioni, Housing Assistance Program Manager

 
In October of 2011, Safe Harbor received a grant from the Office of Violence Against Women to begin a second transitional housing program for victims of domestic violence. This second program – called the Housing Assistance Program (HAP) – will serve a minimum of 14 clients for a period of 3 years and strives to achieve three main goals and objectives.

The first and main goal is to provide secure, stable and safe housing for victims of domestic violence. HAP provides transitional rental and utility assistance for its clients for an average period of 18 months. During such period, HAP pays 40% of participants’ rent and utilities.  Participants are able to select an apartment or home of their choice in any of the four counties that Safe Harbor serves (Greenville, Oconee, Pickens, and Anderson).  Securing safe and affordable housing is one of the greatest obstacles that survivors of domestic violence face.  Therefore, the HAP program also includes a more long-term solution approach to housing. Participants are encouraged to begin thinking about other long-term solutions and are guided through the process of familiarizing themselves with more permanent low-income based housing and home ownership programs.

The second goal of the program is to increase the ability of domestic violence victims to obtain jobs.  Victims of domestic violence are particularly vulnerable to the economic and personal challenges of sparse employment opportunities.  For this reason, all HAP clients are offered placement into the Greenville Technical College Quick Jobs with a Future program, which allows clients to quickly obtain skills matching the needs of local business and industry. Read the rest of this entry »

This article was reposted with permission from The Journal – written by LaDonna Beeker, 02/21/2012.  To contact your local state legislators to voice support for this needed funding, visit http://www.scstatehouse.gov/ .

WALHALLA – With South Carolina’s criminal domestic violence numbers staggeringly high in the nation, 10th Circuit Solicitor Chrissy Adams is hopeful that state legislators remember to adequately fund prosecutors who fight for domestic violence victims in the upcoming budget.

In the 2009-10 fiscal year, South Carolina’s budget did not include funds for criminal domestic violence prosecutors in the state because of a three-year $500,000 federal grant and $1 million received in one-time money from the federal government.

With the grant expiring in June, Adams, along with 15 other state solicitors, is reminding lawmakers that $1.6 million is needed to continue to fight CDV cases in the state. If the $1.6 million is allocated, Adams said it would give $100,000 to each circuit. Read the rest of this entry »

Fashion with a Passion on WSPA\’s Your Carolina Show

Enjoy watching Safe Harbor’s Executive Director, Becky Callaham, and Safe Harbor board member and Fashion with a Passion chair, Renee Dunlap, on WSPA’s Your Carolina show (see link above).

Safe Harbor’s Fashion with a Passion (www.fashionwithapassionsc.org) presented by Southwest Airlines will take place on Thursday, February 9th, at the Huguenot Mill in downtown Greenville.

Join us for a night of fashion, food and fun from Greenville’s finest. You’ll enjoy an evening of celebratory fun including: A New York-style runway show featuring styles from the Upstate’s most popular boutiques - Monkees of the West End, Coplon’s, Petals, Muse Shoe Studio, Plaza Suite, Even a Sparrow, and Wisteria. We will also highlight trendy athletic wear from Fleet Feet and Pedal Chic and some favorite threads from Safe Harbor’s Resale Shop, which is vital to Safe Harbor’s operation.  A fabulous silent auction will take place that includes vacation packages, spa days, fabulous jewelry and accessories, and much more.  Fantastic drinks and eats from Table 301 will make this event an evening to remember. 

All proceeds will benefit Safe Harbor, helping us to fulfill our mission to provide safe shelter, counseling, legal advocacy, and support for victims of domestic violence and their children and to provide prevention services and education throughout the Upstate of South Carolina.

Tickets can be purchased online today at: http://www.fashionwithapassionsc.org

Safe Harbor wants to thank The Journal of Seneca, SC for highlighting the issue of domestic violence in the Upstate.  Below is an editorial written by Editor, Brett McLaughlin, on 12/17/2011.

Periodically, we receive letters and calls from readers who are offended by some of the front-page story choices we make. Generally, the number of “negative” news stories selected for that page puts them off.

We understand their concerns and we share them. We understand there is a lot of good news in our communities and, believe it or not, a good portion of every edition is devoted to highlighting that news. Sometimes, it’s even on the front page.

Every day, people gather to weigh what stories will be published and where they will be placed in the paper. Those are seldom easy decisions.

The difficulty of determining space and placement is complicated by a simple business reality. We remain a viable business by selling advertising. The people who advertise decide where to spend their money based, in part, on how many readers the paper has. On days when crime, personal tragedy and government controversy dominate our front page, we sell more papers.

We understand that part of our responsibility is to “raise the bar,” but would suggest that sometimes that can be done in less conventional ways.

For instance, the editorial staff of The Journal decided several years ago that criminal domestic violence is far too pervasive in our society, particularly in this area. As a result, every arrest for criminal domestic violence is reported. At the same time, we are continually focused on positive stories about efforts to stem this tide and to provide shelter for abused and battered women and children.

If there were ever any doubts that forcing our readers to engage the horrible details of domestic violence was a mistake, they should have been erased by the release, this week, of the first CDC national study of domestic violence. Among its findings were that 1 in 3 women in the U.S. has experienced rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner and that 1 in 4 women have experienced severe violence at the hands of a partner.

These disgusting statistics must be eliminated. If our focus on this problem, as negative as that may be, causes any of our readers discomfort, we are sorry, but we are even sorrier for the victims of these crimes, whose stories we will continue to tell.

by Samantha Tucker, Director of Development, Safe Harbor

“There is always something to be grateful for.”  ~ Charles Dickens

The holidays truly are a special time. True, the hustle of it makes the month of December scoot by so quickly…but this time of year brings with it a heightened level of appreciating and understanding one another.  For me, I look forward to quiet times shared with loved ones.  I feel peaceful when I see my family’s decorated tree and the sweet stockings that represent the members of my family.  I smile at the obvious joy and innocence I see in my children, and I enjoy the effort people put into being festive and cheerful.  For all of this…and for so much more…I am grateful.  What are you grateful for this time of year?

For our residents at Safe Harbor, this time of year can be difficult.  The season prompts missing home and missing personal traditions.  Yes, our residents are grateful to spend the holidays in an environment of peace.  At the shelter we have a decorated tree, and we have kind people from our community who make sure our clients each have a gift or two beneath it.  Still, though, the holidays reinforce that life is different now and that change can be a difficult process. Read the rest of this entry »

 Safe Harbor’s “Links of Hope” Golf Tournament took place on October 29, 2011 at The Trails at Chickasaw Point in Westminster, SC. The event raised over $14,000 with the support of 25 teams participating in the event and business sponsors and personal donations from across the Upstate. Our volunteers, sponsors, and the team at The Trails Golf Course & Grill worked together to make this event a success.   

Our first place team of David Odom, Gary Odom, Kyle Lankford, & David Lankford scored 57. Jim LaRue, Eddie Brown, Bob Kurek, and Jim Graham came in second with 58. Third place went to Todd Hardaway, Eric Hardaway, Weston Blackwood, and Will Thomason with a score of 60. And rounding out the top 4 places with a score of 61 were Charley Thompson, Rex Gibbs, Ed Hicks, and Steve Hicks.  Robert French won closest to the pin on #4, Bob Kurek on #8, Gary Odom on #13, and Ed Hicks on #17. They each won a 7 night 5 Star Resort Vacation Package compliments of SEU Promotions out of Charlotte. Robert French was the finalist in the $10,000 putting contest sponsored by Paesano’s, earning a second vacation package. Earle Wright was the finalist in the chipping contest, walking away with a vacation package as well.   

A special thanks goes to our event sponsors – Leader Ford for their hole-in-one 2011 Ford Mustang package and Oconee Medical Center for providing lunch and marketing costs. Roy Metal Finishing was the Cart Sponsor, and Clemson at the Falls was the pin flags sponsor. 26 Golf Course Partners across the Upstate donated rounds of golf, allowing each tournament team to enjoy 4 rounds of golf at one of the top golf courses in the Upstate. Most of all, we want to thank Safe Harbor board member and tournament coordinator, Darragh Geist, and all other volunteers who coordinated this event.   

Many thanks to all for supporting Safe Harbor through the 2nd Annual Links of Hope Golf Tournament!  Please read below to see event photos and a full list of sponsors. Read the rest of this entry »

This morning, I spoke with a woman named “Sally” over our crisis line who was seeking counseling with Safe Harbor after experiencing over 7 years of abuse in a relationship.  She spoke to me in the same hesitant tone that many victims seem to have when they first share their stories with us.  As Sally shared stories of the frightening cycle of emotional and physical abuse that she was experiencing in her relationship, she was simultaneously expressing her own personal shame.  Sally shared with me that she had never talked with anyone about the abuse she had experienced until this point.  Despite the fact that Sally had loving relationships with her family and trusted friends, she had told no one about the time that her partner had stabbed her in her leg with a knife; about the time when he threw her down a flight of stairs; about the time that he assaulted her in the parking lot of her workplace and threatened to kill her.  Sally shared with me that she was too ashamed, too embarrassed, too afraid to share her story with others, especially her friends and family.  She told me that she felt so alone, feeling that she was the only person that she knew who had experienced domestic violence and thinking that no one else would ever understand her. Read the rest of this entry »

by Erin Bush, Clemson University Student

During Clemson University’s Homecoming celebration on October 8, Clemson students will be recognizing more than their school’s history; they’ll be raising awareness for domestic violence. The students’ efforts are part of a class project to support Safe Harbor, a domestic violence shelter and education outreach organization in Upstate S.C., and to promote Domestic Violence Awareness month during October. 

The students’ projects during Homecoming events will include:

• Adding purple ribbons, the color of domestic violence awareness, to the Homecoming floats. The floats will be built and displayed on Clemson’s Bowman Field.
• Hosting a table on Bowman Field during the week leading up to the game – and several hours prior to kick-off – to provide educational materials from Safe Harbor and Clemson’s Redfern Health Center.
• Displaying a banner announcing Domestic Violence Awareness month on the float that will be showcased during the football game’s halftime show. Read the rest of this entry »

By Claire Bennett, Greenville Shelter Counselor

“Ivory” and her two young children, a girl age 8 and a boy age 3, came to our shelter from Columbia fleeing her abusive boyfriend.  She and her boyfriend had been together for nearly two years and the abuse had been mainly verbal until the moment she decided to leave, at which time he punched and pushed her as she was trying to leave.  His parents would not allow her to speak to the police to report the incident.  She arrived at Safe Harbor as an overwhelmed and fragile mother. 

Shortly after arriving in the shelter, Ivory’s daughter began to feel comfortable enough to disclose for the first time that she had been sexually abused by her father.  We immediately began the referral process to the Julie Valentine Center for individual counseling.  Because her family arrived during the summer, there were many fun activities for her children while she received counseling and attended groups.  As the weeks passed, Ivory grew stronger and her children became happy, healthy children – blossoming from the fearful selves they previously had been.  Read the rest of this entry »