Safe Futures will be taking a huge step forward in how well we can serve the growing number of our neighbors who will need our help every year. We invite you to join us on Tuesday, Oct. 3 at 6:30 p.m., in the Waterford Community Center, to learn more about this exciting project.

The Center for Safe Futures will provide a single location where victims will meet an advocate, talk with police and prosecutors, plan for their safety, and get access to emergency and longer-term assistance immediately and all under one roof. It is based on the model of Family Justice Centers — 160 built over the past 20 years throughout the U.S. and recognized by Congress and the federal government as a best practice for intervention and prevention of domestic violence.

The Center for Safe Futures will be a place of hope for victims and survivors of intimate partner and family violence, sexual assault, stalking, trafficking, elder and child abuse among other forms of victimization. Service providers and community partners will work together to break the cycle of violence and abuse. The Center for Safe Futures will provide access to advocates, behavioral and mental health counselors, substance use disorder services, legal services, law enforcement, education and employment assistance, medical services, housing assistance, and protective services, with childcare available. This will be achieved while providing accessible, survivor-driven, collaborative services under one roof, inspiring hope, self-advocacy, and a safe future for all.

For victims, centralization will relieve them of having to navigate many locations, dealing with differing systems of access to services. It will reduce the amount of travel, repetitive applications and interviews, and debilitating fears about the confidentiality and safety of their outreach. For Safe Futures, it will increase our capacity and enhance communication of referrals and coordination of the many efforts of social-care providers. It will allow us to create a single-support framework to help more victims receive faster, more comprehensive and increased integrated care.

We are ready to break ground in Waterford on 11 acres we have acquired through the donation of real estate. The plans have been drawn to construct a 21,000 squarefoot building.

The Center for Safe Futures will house offices and conference spaces for Safe Futures’ partners, private interview rooms, medical exam facilities, reading and playrooms for children, training labs in computer learning, virtual courtroom and court support services, life skills training rooms and resources and a chapel/ meditation area, law enforcement and more. The interior spaces will be adaptable to changing needs of logistics and capacity. Warmly welcoming reception areas and surrounding green spaces will enhance the overall experience for staff and victims alike.

The Center for Safe Futures will be a huge step forward in how well we can serve the growing number of our neighbors who will need our help every year.

For victims, centralization will relieve them of having to navigate many locations, dealing with differing systems of access to services. It will reduce the amount of travel, repetitive applications and interviews, and debilitating fears about the confidentiality and safety of their outreach.