A Departing Note

My time with The Salvation Army of Houston County and Safe House has come to an end. I've been with this organization for 12.5 years and the Executive Director of Safe House for eight years. Military duty calls my family to Texas.

I leave here with mixed emotions. I am extremely grateful and humbled by the wonderful outpouring of support I have received from the community, staff, Advisory Council and collaborative agencies. I have made many friends and cherish all that I have shared.

Through the clients of Safe House, I have been taught so very much. Thank you to each and everyone for trusting me enough to share your experience and allowing me to be of assistance in your life. My world is richer because it has been touched by so many!

Please continue your support to this worthy cause. This program has many goals and opportunities in the future for growth. The continued support is critical to make this happen. We have long since outgrown the current facility we are in and have begun the long research process to obtain a new one.

We need everyone's help in getting the word out that our program exists and deserves support, for those we serve. Thank you again for all you've given my family and me during our time with The Salvation Army! I will miss this extended "family". May God bless each and every one of you!

Dana L. Rozelle

Since its inception, December 1986,Safe House has been a haven of safety in which victims of physical and severe emotional abuse can live, learn, change, grow and heal. The abuse inflicted on a victim knows no sexual, religious, racial, social/economical, age, marital status or ethnic boundaries. Because of this, our program does not use these factors as a qualification or disqualification of services.

In order to help victims of domestic violence, we must help them accept and overcome their own victimization. We teach our clients that they have the power over their own decisions and they have the right not to be abused. We stress from the beginning that a victim who is sheltered through our program or participates in our support groups has the option and power to make her own decisions.

In shelter living, these victim survivors are a primary source of strength and can transform suffering into life-changing awareness for others. This interaction is often more powerful than professional advice or treatment.

Safe House acknowledges that there would be a diminished need for a shelter if individuals and social institutions were more responsive to the needs of battered women. We, therefore, advocate for the change of public attitudes and policies so that when a woman decides to leave the violence, she will be aided instead of hindered in attempting to meet the needs of herself and her children.

A woman is pressured overtly and covertly by a variety of factors (economic, social, emotional and religious) to return to a violent relationship. For this reason, we do

NOTE: We serve both male and female clients. 98% of our clients are female.

You can now find information about The Salvation Army Safe House on the web. Come and see us at:

http://personal.atl.bellsouth.net/~sash86

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To Love is not to give of your riches

To Love is not to give of your riches;
but to reveal to others their riches; their gifts, their value; and to trust them and their capacity to grow.
So it is important to approach people in their brokenness and littleness gently, so gently,
not forcing yourself on them,
but accepting them as they are,
with humility and respect.

Juan Vainer

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