According to the song, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.”
For many people—too many people—it is anything but.
Families living in need, or in pain, or in fear may find it difficult to join in the festivities and celebrations of the holiday season.
The things we tend to take for granted—the safety, security, and comfort of a warm and welcoming home—are beyond the reach of families for whom domestic violence is a sad fact of life.
Families who live in harm’s way need to know their options and the kinds of help that are available.
Some have already taken the bold and brave step of leaving their abuser and seeking shelter. For the 35 women and children now living in the Center for Hope & Safety emergency shelter, this holiday season is a time of great hope and expectation but also a time of dislocation and uncertainty.
Leaving a perilous past and heading toward a more promising future, they live in a present that has as many questions as answers. At Center for Hope & Safety, we work hard on providing the answers .
Traditionally, the holiday season is a time for all of us to open our hearts to people in need. It is an opportunity to connect with those whose road in life is rockier than ours, to be generous in heart, mind, soul, and spirit.
There can be no greater gift than to help another. This season, know that your generosity has the power to transform lives. Choose the causes that have meaning for you and give of your time, talent, and resources.
Should you choose to donate to Center for Hope & Safety, understand that your gift will help people in crisis, whether or not they need immediate shelter. The services Center for Hope & Safety provides go well beyond providing a roof over one’s head– legal advocacy, financial assistance, counseling, mentoring, job training, and education, along with many programs for children who have witnessed or experienced domestic violence.
There are many wonderful presents under the Center for Hope & Safety tree, all of them devoted to rebuilding lives and offering hope. As we open the door to a safe place to live, we also open the door to a brighter, better future.
The most wonderful time of the year is the time when people of good will give of themselves.
It’s a spirit that’s always in season.
To find out how you can help the people we serve, click here.
Best wishes to you and yours for a festive and joyous holiday season and a happy and healthy, peaceful and prosperous, safe and secure new year.