October is Domestic Violence Awareness month and this year it is important to remind ourselves that we live and work in a resilient community with a resilient population. As an essential worker, I am witness to this strength daily. I am grateful to be part of this community and part of Haven House.

At the on-set of COVID-19, we expanded our services in a way to ensure COVID-19 consciousness while adhering to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and our local public health recommendations. In doing so, we created policies to protect staff and program participants. We added additional staff during each shift so that every call would be answered and to assist with thorough sanitization. Finally, we collaborated with donors to make sure we had enough personal protection equipment for staff and residents. We, at Haven House, took these measures because we are resilient. We care about our community and make it our mission to provide assistance regardless of any obstacle.

You may have noticed some changes to the South Peninsula Haven House building. A beautiful new sign adorns our freshly painted exterior while the completion of Lake Street road construction allows for ease to and from our parking lot. Despite the shiny new look, we are still the same steadfast organization. Haven House is here for anyone experiencing domestic violence. We will continue to provide our services in a manner that is non gender specific and continue to honor each individual’s needs.

As essential workers we are here for the long haul. We are resilient!

Ronnie Leach is Executive Director of South Peninsula Haven House