SafeHaven receives Give Where You Live February grant
On Thursday, February 13, The Give Where You Live meeting was held at the new Troy Skate Church indoor skate facility - the "Refuge." Troy Skate Church is focused on outreach to the youth and young adults in our local skate community. Jon and Sami Hagar lead this mission, and we thank them and their hospitality in hosting our meeting. They were winners of our May 2024 GWYL grant and have done an amazing job in the creation of a refuge for our youth and young adults - we applaud their efforts!
As we sat in reclaimed church pews, we listened to three informative presentations from LifeWise Academy Tipp City, the Miami County Dental Clinic, and SafeHaven Inc. All the presentations were rewarded with member votes, but it was SafeHaven that received the most votes, so they are winners of our February 2025 GWYL grant.
SafeHaven is a peer support center that provides adults in need of mental health support with educational, social, and vocational services and opportunities in a safe, comfortable, non-judgmental environment. SafeHaven is free and open to any adult with a mental health diagnosis OR without a diagnosis, realizing for the first time support is needed. SafeHaven also serves those with mental illness that are also struggling with addiction.
SafeHaven offers a structured day of evidence-based support groups and educational classes, fun and therapeutic activities, free daily meals, free transportation to SafeHaven and back home, field trips, holiday events, and more. All participation during the day is voluntary, while staff provide daily encouragement. Those who receive services are called members and considered a part of the SafeHaven family as we strive to instill coping and living skills, hope, recovery, and improved lives. SafeHaven employs a number of individuals who themselves have experienced mental illness and serve as peer examples that recovery is real. Members become friends and life-long supporters, helping one another to know that no one is alone. You can find out more about SafeHaven by visiting their website: http://www.safehaveninc.com/ Miami County is so fortunate to have them as good neighbors.
Give Where You Live of Miami County (GWYL), a Giving Circle, is a group of women and men who love giving where they are living. We began in 2015 and to date, we have donated over $283,000 to Miami County Charities.
We meet in-person four times a year to provide grants to charities that improve the lives of people living in Miami County. Any member can nominate a Miami County charity and from all the nominations we randomly select three charities. At our meetings, representatives from these organizations make five-minute presentations about their organizations. Their presentations are followed by a question-and-answer segment, and then our members vote for the charity of their choice. The top vote-getting charity receives our Grant. Grant funding comes from each of our members’ commitment to donate $100 to the charity selected by the group. GWYL membership is open to anyone who has a heart for giving back. You can become a member by going to: https://givewhereyoulive.wixsite.com/miamicounty
