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Danny K. Davis recently secured a $2 million grant for A Safe Haven Foundation’s new facility in North Lawndale. Staff at the non-profit organization does amazing work in the North Lawndale community. They focus on a myriad of issues, including homelessness, drug abuse, veterans, job training and job placement, recidivism, and more. ”A Safe Haven provides the tools for each individual to overcome the root causes of homelessness through a holistic and scalable model. A Safe Haven’s visible social and economic impact unites families, stabilizes neighborhoods, and creates vibrant, viable communities,” according to their website.
This recent news is extremely important, not just for the organization but for the North Lawndale community as a whole. This $2 million grant will be put to good use. The organization also plans to create “A Safe Haven’s Behavioral Healthcare Center.”
The ASHBHC is the final piece this organization is missing in terms of outreach. They are going to be able to help so many more people with this, according to Neli Rowland, the agency’s founder, and president. They will be adding the center to their greater network of preventative measures in the North Lawndale community. The impact that this organization has had can not be understated.
On a micro-scale, the money will be used to pay for things like staff and services. Rowland is very proud of the team at A Safe Haven Foundation. She sees them as both family and team.
The team comes together to foster a healthy, safe environment for those seeking help, one that fights against the systemic issues plaguing the North Lawndale area and a team that comes together to make North Lawndale a better place to live.
“A Safe Haven has a long record and great history of providing meaningful services to their clients and the community as a whole,” Davis explained.
The ASHBHC is important for many reasons. It will be near many important locations, including: ”near some of Chicago’s top safety net hospitals, Cook County jail, the medical district, and two veteran hospitals,” according to their website. They intend to use the money given in very meaningful ways to help the most vulnerable.
This sort of distribution of resources is what makes Chicago a better place. The ASHBHC symbolizes an expansion in outreach and the people this great organization can help. It also represents a step in the right direction when it comes to helping at-risk communities that have been truly disregarded in Chicago.
The Safe Haven is designed to be as accessible and as useful as possible to all communities. Primarily those that need the agency’s assistance the most, like North Lawndale. They follow a need-based approach to efficiently offer help to all of the 5,000 struggling Chicagoans they serve every year.
The organization has truly become an anchor, not just in North Lawndale but in many different at-risk neighborhoods. The more organizations like A Safe Haven Foundation get funded to do their work, the better this world will be. It only makes sense to fund the people that have proven themselves day in and day out that their dedication and passion goes to the communities that they serve.
Written by Kenneth Mazerat
Edited by Sheena Robertson
Sources:
Interview: Neli Rowland; July 17, 2022
Yahoo!: Congressman Danny Davis Awards A Safe Haven Foundation a $2 Million Federal Grant to Open a Behavioral Healthcare Center in Chicago’s West Side North Lawndale Community
A Safe Haven: CONGRESSMAN DANNY DAVIS AWARDS A SAFE HAVEN FOUNDATION A $2 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT TO OPEN A BEHAVIORAL HEALTHCARE CENTER IN CHICAGO’S WEST SIDE NORTH LAWNDALE COMMUNITY
All Images Courtesy of Neli Rowland – Used With Permission