News/Blog
What’s in a Name Change?
After nearly 40 years as Shelter Our Sisters, we are now the Center for Hope & Safety. Why, you may ask? Good question! There are several important reasons: Providing emergency shelter—a Safe House--is still at the very core of what we do, and have done, since 1976....
Okay, Okay, She Left; Now She’s Dead
I’m pretty sure that is not the outcome we wanted while we were all judging: “Why doesn’t she just leave? “ “What’s wrong with her?” “I would never put up with someone who hit me.” Or some equally dangerous and ignorant assessment. Here’s the thing. Abuse doesn’t stop...
The Hard Facts About Financial Abuse
There are no shortages of articles and internet resources about financial abuse money.usnews.com/money/blogs/my-money/2011/04/26/how-to-stop-domestic-financial-abuse is one really good example. For those of us pressed for time, and who isn’t, let’s see if we...
Guns and Abuse (it Happens to Famous People Too)
Baseball Hall of Famer Joe Torre: “My sister had this knife in front of my mother and he said put the knife down. And she wouldn’t do it. And he started reaching into the drawer for the gun. And I went around and I grabbed the knife out of my sister’s hand, and I...
Breaking the Bad is Good
“It was almost 25 years ago when I found myself in harm’s way and in desperate need to escape a violent relationship that I had endured for far too long. For some time I had known that if I was going to live, the marriage would have to end. During that last beating,...
The Many Ways We Help – Diane’s Path To Self Sufficiency
Diane came to the Center for Hope & Safety’ Project Self-Sufficiency program because she wanted to continue her education. Here at Center for Hope & Safety, we believe that all women have the right to live without fear, without violence and have a...
The best Christmas presents: Safety, strength, and hope
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...
How Do You Support That Woman Who Just Keeps Staying?
Blog Post by Lil Corcoran, Associate Executive Director In 1988 I remember watching a battered Hedda Nussbaum testify against Joel Steinberg, for murdering their daughter, Lisa, and thinking, “What is wrong with her?” Although I have come to a...
A dream becomes a vision, and finally a reality
Blog Post by Elaine Meyerson, Executive Director Center for Hope & Safety When I became the Executive Director of Center for Hope & Safety in 1986, I asked the staff what they felt their needs were, without hesitation they all echoed the word "space." ...
Yes. It happens here.
It happens in Bergen County, one of the 40 wealthiest counties in the United States. It happens behind the closed doors of nicely appointed homes along the tree-lined streets of suburbia, just as it happens in the poorest of inner city neighborhoods. And...