Latest news with #SafeHavenFoundation
Calgary Herald
24-07-2025
- General
- Calgary Herald
Safe Haven Foundation opens two new spaces to prevent homelessness for girls and young women
A Calgary-based non-profit celebrated the next steps in combating homelessness for girls and young women with the grand opening of the Safe Haven Community Hub and Haven's Harbour Residences on Wednesday. Article content The new spaces are designed to support girls and young women who are at risk or in the early stages of homelessness. Article content Article content The Safe Haven Foundation was first established in 1996. Co-founder Karen Sherbut said Wenesday's milestone that was 30 years in the making was rooted in a vision her husband, John, wanted to create for others after hearing the hardships she faced as a teenager. Article content Article content 'I came from a very dysfunctional family and I was a runaway at 16,' Sherbut said. 'I made the choice, and to this day I still believe that my running away and not knowing where I was running to was safer than what I was running from.' Article content Article content With a healthy support system of friends and family that supported her, Sherbut became a constant couch surfer who worked three jobs and completed her education. Article content 'Years later when I met my husband-to-be, he asked what I wished I had when I was a child growing up — it's exactly what we are doing now,' she said. 'I wish that I would've had a safe place to sleep every night, where I knew where home was going to be, where I knew my next meal was going to come from, and where I didn't have to hold down so many jobs to complete my education, because that was very important to me. Article content 'And that's why we created it. It's really designed to duplicate that healthy and caring family environment.' Article content Article content Foundation CEO Krystyna Lloyd said their programs include Haven's Way, which provides a space for six young women or girls between the ages of 14 to 21 who are in the early stages or at risk of experiencing homelessness. Article content The second, Haven's Harbour Residences, is made up of eight residences and supports young women in their pursuit of post-secondary education and independent living skills, under a caring, family-style environment. Article content 'In the basement of Haven's Harbour, we have a kitchen and gathering space where both streams of the program can come together for the first time,' Lloyd said. Article content Article content Through this, girls and women that are in either side of the program can interact with one another to facilitate relationships while they are in their respective programs. Article content 'In the last few weeks when we have been bringing the girls together to place-make this space . . . they were all so excited about it,' she said. 'A lot of youth are asking when it's their turn to transition to the next program, they're calling dibs on units, and they're putting out their ideas for workshops and programs that they want to lead.'
CBC
24-07-2025
- Business
- CBC
Calgary non-profit expands support for young women facing homelessness
A Calgary-based non-profit is expanding its services through a new community hub and transitional housing space supporting women and girls at risk of homelessness. The Safe Haven Foundation announced that the Safe Haven Community Hub and Haven Harbour Residences is now open in the city's southwest. "This is a space that was built with care. It's rooted in belonging and it's designed to grow futures," said Safe Haven CEO Krystyna Lloyd at the building's opening on Wednesday. The building combines a social gathering space offering wellness workshops, life skills coaching, Indigenous-led healing circles and community meals. It has shared and independent residences for young women transitioning from other Safe Haven housing programs. "This is going to strengthen our families. It's going to rebuild natural supports. It's going to create future leaders here in our province of Alberta that are equipped with confidence and tools to thrive with," said Julia Hayter, the NDP MLA for Calgary-Edgemont and provincial shadow minister for the status of women. The residence space increases the number of youth Safe Haven can serve by 150 per cent, equating to over 3,285 supported bed nights annually. Residents stay an average of two years as they work on completing their education and finding employment. Lloyd said the project grew out of feedback from alumnae of Safe Haven's supportive living program, Haven's Way. "There was a desire to still be connected to coaching and support while first living independently," Lloyd said, adding the new space now makes that possible for residents. Melissa Wheeler was the first resident of Safe Haven when it opened its doors 25 years ago. Since then she has worked to help build and grow the organization. "The home gave me the safety and stability and the chance to dream for a better life, which hopefully I stand before you today to say, 'Hey, it can happen,'" she said at the announcement. "Being here today, it is this next stage of Safe Haven's journey." Addressing the need for a safe space According to research published by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation in 2024, homelessness among women and girls is not well documented, yet there are indications they experience it at a disproportionate rate to men. The Homeless Hub also found estimates of women's homelessness are often undercounted, as they are less likely to access homelessness services, either remaining in an unsafe housing situation or leaning on personal connections. Karen Sherbut started Safe Haven with her husband John in 2000. She left home at 16 years old, moving between friends' places while working three jobs and going to school. She said she was fortunate to have those safe places to stay, and wanted to provide the same for other young women in similar situations. "When I met John, he asked me what I wished I would have had when I was a kid," Sherbut said. "And it was a safe place to call home where I didn't have to worry about where my next meal was coming from, where I didn't have to worry about working every day — that I could go to school and focus on my studies." Sherbut and her husband then posed that same question to youth facing homelessness, whether it was at local shelters or on street corners. They found many wanted the same thing Sherbut did. Safe Haven is now the only program of its kind in Canada, Sherbut said, focusing on prevention and long-term change for young women who would otherwise be overlooked. A long time coming Lloyd said the new space has been in the works for several years. They started the project in 2020, but pandemic-related delays forced them to rethink their fundraising strategy. Fortunately, Lloyd said, several local donors came through. But, she stresses, the work is just beginning. "It took such a big push and so much community to make this possible, but it takes just as much effort to maintain it," said Lloyd. Still, Sherbut said seeing the space finally open is a "surreal," full-circle moment. "I remember Melissa walking through the doors only 25 years ago," Sherbut said. "She was the first girl, and for her to be there standing with us today is one of the highlights of the 30 years that John and I have been doing this."
