Safe Harbor Reflections of 2021 - Staff share their favorite memories
The beginning of a new year is a perfect time to reflect on both the beautiful and difficult days that we are leaving behind. At Safe Harbor, we want to look back on the past year and share some of our favorite memories of 2021.
At our December meeting, we met virtually “around the campfire” with a cup of our favorite hot beverage and a candle burning. We took turns sharing our favorite memory from 2021. It was a time to come together and connect as humans and coworkers. A time to laugh and appreciate.
Here are some of our favorite moments of the past year:
- Joining the Safe Harbor family- India Underwood
- The continual, steady flow of people reaching out who want to volunteer and help our clients-Lisa Nalley
- Decorating the resale shop for Christmas- A Gibson
- I joined SH on November 1st, which was such a blessing this year, but my favorite memory so far was seeing some of our clients in Anderson gain their confidence and self-worth back. On the same day, we had one client go get her hair done and just light up and another client started to wear makeup again, style her hair, and dress up more. Not that looks are everything, but you could just see they were shining after feeling safe again. - Erica Porter
- It was an awesome experience to see a client have a baby this year. She was such a beautiful little girl with a full head of hair. Def made me smile each day getting to see this precious little one! - Christina Lewis
- My favorite memories are when clients just express their appreciation for Safe Harbor's Rapid Rehousing Program helping them in various ways. I also love how we remain flexible in meeting the clients' needs. - Shawneequa
- Anna Spatafora planning her own teacher training program to facilitate REP- Amanda Callahan
- Samantha texting Adriene and me that Safe Harbor received our [Office of Violence Against Women] transitional housing grant for [our Housing Assistance Program] for the next 4 years!!! Also, I really enjoyed all the work we did collectively on that grant proposal! - Julie Meredith
- Getting re-awarded our [Office of Violence Against Women] transitional housing grant. Watching my team pull together At the Table and all the feels of that morning. Adding Bri to our team. - Samantha Tucker
- The ‘At the Table’ event and seeing War and Treaty and being in person
- A couple that donated to one of our families and the family was so excited and re-decorated two bedrooms. The client said “This is the dream room that I never had as a child” Vickie Neff
- Wayne Satterfield, a donor who has passed away, Wayne was able to do one last thing to help one last family before he passed away.
- One of my favorite things this last year that's work-related was hiring Darren for the Furniture Pick Up position. He's been a game-changer and made such a difference here. -Katie Rockwell
- Safe Harbor received a donation from a couple who decided to increase how much they give substantially for recurring support. They handed me a check for $4,500. What added to it is that they picked 27 other organizations as well to give them the gift of $4,500 and some were very small that maybe had never seen a donation of that size before. A beautiful moment for our community. -Amanda Manly
- Stalking victim and had a client that could ride a bike and go outside, and it was awesome. A picture with their Christmas tree and it was very special. A year of firsts and it is so special to walk alongside the firsts. -Michelle Gilbert
- I love the opportunity to meet new people as they come to work for Safe Harbor. It's a joy to get to know them. - Kristin Brady
We know that 2021 was a challenging year. But we hope that despite the adversities, we can all list some happy moments. As we go into 2022, we hope to experience more of these kinds of moments that warm our hearts and remind us of the beauty in the world.
