We know that sounds a bit odd; let us explain.

HAVEN supports victims of domestic violence like Susan, a 35 year-old pregnant woman who called our 24-hour crisis line to talk about how to leave her abusive relationship. After years of physical and verbal abuse, it seemed that having a baby wasn’t going to stop the violence, in fact it got worse after she became pregnant. With HAVEN’s help she found lasting friendships, affordable housing, and a job to support her new family.

Sadly, Susan’s story is only one of the 790 individuals in Gallatin County that HAVEN served last year; 20% of whom were children. HAVEN sheltered victims of domestic violence for a total of 2,679 bed nights, an increase of 127% from the year before. It is heartbreaking that there is such a pressing need for our services, but at HAVEN we focus on HOPE. We see hope in the many women like Susan who start new lives free from abuse and fear.  We also see hope in the young people in our community, in children like Susan’s new daughter.    

With your help we can stop the cycle of abuse in our community by preventing it from happening in the first place.  Please support our community education and groundbreaking work teaching teens and young adults to advocate for healthy relationships and respect for themselves and their peers. That’s why we say we’re trying to put ourselves out of business.  We want all children to grow up knowing they deserve to be safe and treated with respect.  We need your help now. Today, we ask that you invest in our lifesaving work and our promise that we will continue to do whatever we can to create a violence free community for our youth, and for generations to come.

Kristy McFetridge                                    Kelly Smith
HAVEN Executive Director                      HAVEN Board President

THANK YOU for your support!

"Taking the first step out the door to leave an abusive marriage is scary, especially when it means becoming a single mom. Having HAVEN there to be the first stop in my journey made it possible. And when I was ready to take my second step-out of HAVEN and into my own apartment-HAVEN continued to be there for me. I have not had to manage becoming a single mom all by myself. The staff and volunteers at HAVEN are still supporting me with encouragement, education, and advocacy. I can't wait for the day HAVEN is not needed, but until then, thank God for HAVEN."-HAVEN client