Safe Shelter Saves Lives

Stronger Together: Fighting for Women, Children, and Safe Shelter

Rose Haven is proud to provide day shelter, vital resources, and trauma-informed care to our community members. Although Rose Haven is the only day shelter specifically serving women, families, and children in Portland, we haven’t been working alone. Our services are made possible through our membership to the National Women’s Shelter Network, or the NWSN. Every year, over 1 million women and 2.5 million children experience homelessness in our country. Our mission is to make it none. Follow the NWSN to stay updated and informed.

What is the NWSN?

The NWSN is a united network of women’s and family shelters and safe havens who serve and protect overlooked, marginalized, and vulnerable populations. With 400+ members and growing, the NWSN provides shelter, safety, and support to women, children, and families facing homelessness and trauma across the nation. Safe shelter saves lives.

The achievements of the NWSN display the strength that comes in numbers. By fostering a collaborative repertoire of shared information, resources, and solutions, its members are more adequately equipped to achieve their goals of serving their communities and ending and preventing homelessness. Thanks to this network, Rose Haven has been able to raise awareness about the homelessness crisis as well as gender-based violence as a cause of homelessness and its disproportionate impact on women and children. But we’ve gone farther than raising awareness–this membership has enabled us to make real-world impacts and save lives.

 Safe Shelter Saves Lives

The NWSN aims to amplify the voices of women, challenge stereotypes, and raise awareness. Homelessness can happen to anyone, and gender-based violence makes women, children, and families especially vulnerable. We should ensure that these populations have access to safe shelter and resources.

 

 

The streets are no place for families to live. That’s why Rose Haven produces spaces designed specifically to keep women, gender-queer individuals, and children safe and to provide them with the support that they need. Access to safe shelter shields against violence, crime, weather conditions, and the other dangers of the streets. To empower our guests, we emphasize radical hospitality, trauma-informed care, advocacy on an individual and community level, and meaningful connections to resources. 

Shifting Federal Terrain

Shelters and safe havens like Rose Haven are the nation’s last safety net for the vulnerable populations that we serve. We act as first responders for women, children, and families facing homelessness, but the current federal landscape is shaping our ability to do so.

The types of services provided by the Rose Haven are under siege from the current administration; the elimination or suspension of Federal grants could hinder shelter programs and services, make it difficult to maintain staffing levels, and pose threats to our basic operations and programs. Additionally, the threat of ICE raids looms large over programs like ours.

These barriers would jeopardize our abilities as first responders and put the lives of women, children, and families even more at risk. In times like these, we need your support more than ever. Donate through our website and follow the NWN to stay updated about our mission!