These children have often given up on trusting adults and have not experienced healthy relationships with others.  They have difficulty expressing various emotions, and many times display self-defeating behaviors.  Often children come to us with nothing, but the clothes on their backs.

Starfish Story

“Once a man was walking along a beach. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. Off in the distance he could see a person going back and forth between the surf's edge and the beach. Back and forth this person went. As the man approached he could see that there were hundreds of starfish stranded on the sand as the result of the natural action of the tide.

The man was stuck by the apparent futility of the task. There were far too many starfish. Many of them were sure to perish. As he approached the person continued the task of picking up starfish one by one and throwing them into the surf.

As he came up to the person he said, "You must be crazy. There are thousands of miles of beach covered with starfish. You can't possibly make a difference." The person looked at the man. He then stooped down and picked up one more starfish and threw it back into the ocean. He turned back to the man and said, "I just made a difference for that one!" 

Safehaven needs your support during the upcoming 
holiday season. 

If you’d like to make a monetary donation, you can donate online by clicking on the “donate” button below, or send checks payable to Safehaven, P.O. Box 12914, Newport News, VA, 23612.

For the upcoming holiday season, we are in need of gift cards for children’s outings. Some ideas might be golden corral, chick-fil-a, McDonalds, area movie theaters, Cheddar’s, T.G.I.Friday’s, bowling alleys, cinema café, etc. The kids are out of school this year for two weeks over the Christmas holiday, so any amounts are helpful to assist with activities during the holiday season. We are also in need of gifts for the kids for Christmas. If you are interested in donating money or goods to support the children, please call Jenn Abrams. Truly any dollar amount is helpful to support the operations of the shelter during a challenging season. Here are some ways your donations support Safehaven:

$5 discount movie ticket
$25 pizza for the kids
$50 outing to McDonalds
$100 outing to the movies
$150-$175 groceries for one week
$200 a few outfits for a child that comes to Safehaven with no belongings
$1000 Christmas gifts for all residents
$5000 Cost for one resident for one month

Thank you for your ongoing support of Safehaven. Without the generosity and kindness of individuals and groups in the community, Safehaven would not continue to be in existence today. Hope your holiday season is a safe and happy one.

Children pictured on this website are not Safehaven residents

In accordance with Federal law and US Department of Agriculture policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability.