Golf Tournament Benefits Local At-risk Youth and Young Adults

Safe Haven would like to thank all who attended the benefit Golf Tournament on August 4th at the Legend’s Golf Course, in Lakeville. It was a beautiful day to spend time with friends and associates and get in a round of golf at a great course. Thanks to the generosity of individuals and organizations that participated and donated to the event over $20,000 was raised for youth in need of out-of-home placement and young adults who otherwise would be homeless.

A special thank you to KMA, Inc. for coordinating and sponsoring the event! Thank you to the following supporters for contributing to the event: Air Mechanical; AIS Document Solutions; Ball Pro; Bed, Bath & Beyond; Best Buy of Shakopee; Bonfire; Buffalo Wild Wings; Burnsville Heating & Air; Cub Foods; Delta Dental of Minnesota; Denny Hecker’s GMAC Realty; Derek Farsund; ECC Brokers; El Loro; Enjoy; Green Mill; Hans and Sue Radke; Hooters; Integra Telecom; James Streefland; CPA; Jamie Scheere; Jansen Insurance; Jen Kons; Jim Koshak; Kelly Promotions; KMA, Inc.; KMA, Inc. Staff; Legend’s Golf Course; Lifetouch; Lost Spur Country Club; Lumtron Technologies; Majors; Mark & Tricia Davis; Metal-Matic, Inc; Metropolitan Financial Services, Inc.; Mutual of America; Nora Smith; Olive Garden; Paradise Car Wash; Passkey Computer Services; Paws & Pals Pet Resort; Presbyterian Homes & Services; Prior Lake Pet Hospital; Prior Lake State Bank; Pro-Tech Design and Manufacturing, Inc.; Shepherd of the Lake Lutheran Church; Silverstone Golf Club; TGI Friday’s; The Wild’s Golf Club; UPAC; Val Zweber – REMAX Realty; Village Market; Wausau Insurance; Winthrop & Weinstine, Attorneys at Law; Workers’ Compensation Specialists, LCC (MIIA) and the YMCA at Shepherd’s Path.

Save the date – next year’s event will be held on Monday, August 3rd, 2009 at the Legends!

Safe Haven Charity Golf Tournament Video

Safe Haven path leads to home for once-homeless teen

It’s all about perspective.

Now, Carolina Madden values time she spent at Safe Haven Shelter for Youth, a Prior Lake-based nonprofit organization that houses homeless teens and young adults.

But anger and frustration once clouded her view, as a teen bouncing through the foster care system and group homes.

“I didn’t have an appreciation for Safe Haven until I was 17 and [moved to] Pine City. Up until then, there wasn’t too much nice I could say about the program. It’s structured,” Madden said.

Safe Haven founder and president Dan Saad said teens don’t always understand the life skills and counseling that go hand in hand with the shelter’s housing.

“At 16, it’s hard to see all of that,” Saad said.

Programming is typically a secondary item for teens looking to put a roof over their heads.

The shelter has two residential group homes in Prior Lake for at-risk youth, with room for 10 boys and six girls ages 10-18. It also has transitional homes in Burnsville for 12 young men and women ages 16-21.

At its new Prior Lake welcome center, the nonprofit added five one-bedroom apartments for supportive housing for young families in crisis.

The 3,300 square foot welcome center opened in September 2007 to add office, classroom, medical and event space, as well.

Saad said the $11.4 million project now has only $335,000 in debt thanks to numerous donations and grants. The center targets men and women ages 18-25 who need a place to stay while gaining job and independent-living skills.

“A lot of them leave because they don’t want to put up with parents’ rules of the house, or they’re getting kicked out. They end up living in a car or with a friend,” Saad said.

Youth are typically referred to Safe Haven from schools, churches, county programs and law enforcement.

Safe Haven incorporated as a nonprofit in 1995 and opened its first shelter with six beds in Prior Lake in 1997. It’s one of Prior Lake’s largest employers, with a total of 48 employees.

The shelter has developed over time, as displaced youth continue to seek housing and programs. In the last six months, Saad has had more than 40 requests for living situations for homeless young adults.

Often, teens leaving foster care at age 18 aren’t ready to fend for themselves.

For Madden, Safe Haven came toward the end of her search for a home after a failed adoption, foster care, and group home situations that began at age 5.

Today, the 22-year-old mother of two is married and works in consumer relations at Best Buy. She persevered through living adjustments and has planted her own family’s roots in Prior Lake.

But as a teen coming to the Prior Lake shelter, she was learning adaptability, and things were less secure.

“From my experiences, I know how to relate to so many different people and backgrounds. The people in my background are so diverse. The experiences I’ve had are not typical. I can be placed in a non-typical scenario and know how to adapt,” she said.

Madden said Safe Haven taught her forgiveness and helped her to change after a background of abuse and rocky home situations.

“Many times, I was not a very nice person. I was not someone you would call loveable,” Madden said.

She admitted to arguing with staff at Safe Haven in the past.

“I could be very physical at times. I was not a very nice person. I was reacting to issues in my past,” Madden said.

Suzie Misel was the first staff member at Safe Haven to meet Madden. Misel visited Madden at a group home in Austin, Minn. to discuss the transition to the Prior Lake shelter.

“If people describe Carolina, they probably would say she was detached, angry and depressed, and at the same time everybody loved her. She’s very likable,” Misel said.

Madden said many of her troubles stemmed from the anger she felt about her past.

“I wanted people to be as unhappy as I was,” Madden explained.

Coming home

The 2003 Prior Lake High School graduate’s first home was a children’s orphanage in Brazil.

Madden came to the United States when she was adopted at age 5, but she was removed from the home for child abuse issues at 11.

She then moved to a St. Cloud children’s home. By age 13, Madden had tried and left another foster home, which she described as having “too much freedom” for her at that point.

“I was done with that foster home by the time I was 14,” Madden said. “I actually skipped around several group homes trying to find a fit. I think I went through two to three group homes in that period.”

Her next stop was at Gerard Academy in Austin, Minn., where she continued to work on issues from home-life experiences.

“Abandonment, the abuse – I really had to learn how to trust others. I had to learn how to control my anger,” Madden said. “That actually took a while.”

In March 2001, at 15, Madden found a new home at Safe Haven.

“At that point, I had recovered enough and was able to function in a less controlled environment. I still had bouts of anger,” she said.

Saad said he knew Madden had potential to change.

“I could always see the good things in her. I could see her day to day and see she was a winner. She did make it,” Saad said.

When Madden became pregnant and needed to leave Safe Haven for a new foster home, Saad said he knew she wouldn’t become a teen parent who lived off the welfare system.

Madden said switching homes again after finding Safe Haven was another difficult twist of fate.

“I had a meltdown. This wasn’t anything that was intentional,” Madden said. “I’ve seen teen mothers and their children in the system, and that’s not a situation I wanted with my child.

“I wasn’t going to give her up; I wasn’t going to have an abortion, but we thought about all of the options.” Her daughter Char was born in October 2002.

“That was definitely a transition in my life,” Carolina said. “They did everything to support a healthy pregnancy and support our relationship.”

“She was a fighter and she adapted,” Saad said.

Because of her child, Madden had moved to a foster home in Pine City to care for Char.

She eventually found a foster situation in Pine City where she felt at home.

“This is who Char calls Grandma and Grandpa. I eventually decided to stay in Pine City because of that relationship,” she said.

After three years in Pine City, she and her husband moved back to be closer to his family in Prior Lake.

“We had to [move back here] because it was home. Prior Lake is home for us,” Madden said.

Madden said she enjoys all of the family events Prior Lake offers for her daughters Char, 5, and Emily, 3 months.

Madden had been uprooted many times before planting roots, but she said her times in Prior Lake were the steadiest of her teen years.

“It was the closest to living the normal teenage life I’d ever been,” Madden said.

At Prior Lake High School, she joined the track team, and she also worked at Snyder Drug.

“I was actually able to form a connection with members of the community,” she said.

“I met my husband the first day of high school at Prior Lake [High School]. He asked me to prom 10 minutes after we met. TJ was hooked from day one. We’ve been together ever since,” she said.

When prom came, Carolina said the shelter staff members made sure she got to do all of the things other students at school were doing to primp for the big event.

“Suzie and another counselor helped me get ready, and I had the same prom everyone else had,” she said.

She volunteered at nursing homes with the Safe Haven program, as well.

She eventually worked at Keystone Communities in Prior Lake until 2007, when she joined Best Buy to pursue her business aspirations.

Madden has one more year of college as she studies business management through the University of Phoenix online, while continuing to work and raise her family.

“It fit in between with my school work and the kids,” she said.

Madden has learned that her determination and ability to cope is an asset, she said.

“The older I get, the more I’m realizing it’s absolutely true. Basically everything I’ve wanted I’ve gotten. My last thing I’ve wanted is a house, and I’m working on that one,” she said.

“Carolina’s always been very mature, and her maturity has really developed,” Misel said.

Madden said Safe Haven gave her the tools for success, but it didn’t give her a free ride.

“You have to want it. You have to work for it. You have to want better for yourself,” she said. “They’re setting you up for success, but you have to want it, too.”

First Residents move into Safe Haven Apartments

On December 1, 2007, two homeless young adults moved into Safe Haven’s permanent supportive housing apartments as the first residents of the new program. The apartments are located in the new Welcome Center which also houses Safe Haven’s corporate offices.

About Safe Haven Apartments

Safe Haven Apartments is a permanent, supportive housing division of the Safe Haven Welcome Center. There are 5 one bedroom apartments, laundry facility, computer room/library, lounge, community space and a support service office. Safe Haven is located in a brand new building within Shepherd’s Path at 13870 McKenna Rd, Shakopee, MN. There is a park and ride location with limited departure and arrival times, but it does offer a transfer stop to connect you to the greater south metro area. Safe Haven Apartments’ goal is to serve young adults who have histories of out-of-home placement and mental health challenges, and who are homeless upon application. We offer young adults a stable, and affordable housing opportunity through grants provided by Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Safe Haven was designed to offer services and housing to the young adults facing the challenges of housing in south metro. It is the first of its kind in the southern metropolitan suburbs.

While Safe Haven aims to support young people transitioning into adulthood, it is not a time-limited transitional program, group home, or shelter. Tenants sign a standard, one-year lease agreement and can reside her as long as they meet the expectations of their lease. The lease includes an addendum that tenants will remain sober and productive during their tenancy. Safe Haven anticipates all of the tenants requesting some degree of assistance as they adjust to the expectations of their lease: learning to manage money and pay rent, using local resources to meet various needs, exploring opportunities to develop leadership, or simply problem solving day-to-day life issues as they arise. The support services will be geared toward individuals 18-25. The goal of Safe Haven Apartments is to teach the skills that lead to housing stability, higher income and educations levels, and increased self-determination.

The support services staff of Safe Haven is committed to a strength-based, culturally competent model of addressing and assisting tenants to master skills. We are committed to creating a non-stigmatizing environment where young adults can get supportive feedback about a realistic of their mental health and related challenges, effective use of community resources, and on-going support to achieve life goals. Many of the services will be offered within the Safe Haven Welcome Center. We are also committed to collaborative relationships with various community resources, service professionals, and neighbors in the effort to support our tenants’ growth and housing stability.

Who Safe Haven Apartments Serve

Safe Haven seeks applicants who meet these basic criteria:
• Are single young adults 18 and above.
• Have a current disability (mental, physical, or chemically dependent) verified by an LP, MD, or LICSW.
• Are homeless according to HUD guidelines.
• Will pass a criminal background check

Safe Haven will give preference to those applicants who:
• Are eager to have housing that will allow an opportunity for independent growth, and increase potential to earn income through employment, volunteer opportunities, education, and other positive experiences.
• Have significant history of out-of-home placements in youth foster care, group homes, or other residential settings.
• Demonstrate a desire to create healthy support systems.

Safe Haven is not a housing setting well suited for young adults with serious behavioral problems or on-going untreated substance abuse. It is well suited to young adults who are willing and able to demonstrate basic tenant skills with minimal supervision, and who see themselves as benefiting from the type of financial, emotional, and life-skill support that Safe Haven offers.

Basic Expectations
• Tenants will commit to maintaining Safe Haven Apartments chemically free environment.
• Tenants will be involved in productive activities such as education, employment, self-care or other leadership development activities.
• Tenants will utilize support service staff to help set goals, solve problems, learn skills, and link to services when appropriate.
• Tenants will follow the policies and rules outlined in their lease.

Referral Process
Safe Haven is open to all self referrals or referrals from outreach workers, county departments, shelters, or schools and will maintain a waiting list. All applications may be picked up at Safe Haven Welcome Center or mailed to you.

Safe Haven also operates two homes in Burnsville offering young men and women transitional housing. These homes have been in operation since year 2001 and have served over 200 young adults ages 16-22 that otherwise would have been homeless.

Safe Haven Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and Open House

Safe Haven’s Welcome Center Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and Open House was held on Thursday, September 20th from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Welcome Center is located on the Shepherd’s Path campus, just North of Co. Rd. 42 at 13780 McKenna Road NW.

With 12,000 square feet, the Welcome Center and the apartments (five one-bedroom permanent supportive housing units) are part of Safe Haven’s long-term goal of becoming a comprehensive, multi-service agency for youth and young adults in the south metro area. The Welcome Center provides independent living skills training, case management, family community support services, on-site health screening, free walk-in counseling and hygiene/personal care services and will be the gateway for their supportive housing programs and other community services.

Extra, Extra!

Safe Haven Breaks Ground for new Welcome Center

A groundbreaking ceremony for Safe Haven’s Welcome Center was held October 18 at 10:30 AM. The Welcome Center site is located on the 60-acre Shepherd’s Path campus in Prior Lake. 

Since 1997, Safe Haven has served neglected and abused youth and young adults (including troubled youth, youth in the foster care system, teen moms, etc.) who are now or may be at-risk of out of home placement or homelessness. Safe Haven works hard to establish trust with program participants and build their self-esteem early in the program so that they can benefit from all of our services. The organization has established itself in the community as a resource for at-risk youth in need of support services and will be expanding these services for youth and families in-crisis with the construction of the Welcome Center and five one-bedroom permanent supportive housing units.

With 12,000 square feet, the Welcome Center and apartments are part of Safe Haven’s long-term goal of becoming a comprehensive, multi-service social service agency for youth and young adults in the south metro area. In a time when government social service programs are being slashed and in a suburban location where these services are scare to begin with, Safe Haven will provide the safety net for youth in the area. The Welcome Center will provide independent living skills training, case management, family community support services, on-site nurse screening, free walk-in counseling and hygiene/personal care services and will be the gateway for their supportive housing programs and other community services.

Attending the groundbreaking ceremony were (from left) Board Member Jim Koshak, Board Vice-Chair Susan M. Hadley, Group Home Program Director Jackie Korus, Board Chair Pauline Drake, Transitional Homes Program Supervisor Regan Warren, Associate Director Teri Funk, Executive Director Dan Saad, Board Member Kevin Horkey, Office Administrator Kris Gerold, and Board Member Craig Olson.

Safe Haven Offers Shelter From the Storm

Give him a minute and Dan Saad ’85, ’91 M.B.A., will sell you a dream:
the dream of a better life for troubled Minnesota youth. He’ll tell you
about a kid who lived in a tent behind a church. He’ll mention suburban
youth who couch-hop, the invisible homeless who move from
one friend’s house to another. He’ll talk about kids whose stepparents
throw them out of the house as soon as they turn 18. He’ll ask you,
“Is it right for them to be homeless? I don’t think so, if they’re willing to change.”
Read more…

Safe Haven Offeres Shelter From the Storm (PDF Article)

Development of Non-Residential Support Services

Scott County (where the Shepherd's Path campus is located), like many of the suburban counties we serve, is experiencing unprecedented growth, but lacks a strong network of social services to support this growing population. The newly released census figures show Scott County as the fastest growing county in the state of Minnesota, having increased from 57,846 in 1990 to 89,498 currently - a gain of 55%. This figure is expected to increase to 109,000 persons by the year 2010 according to Metropolitan Council estimates. Some specialized services for youth exist, for teens who are pregnant or experiencing domestic violence for example, but youth and young adults lack a centralized place to go for help.

Dakota County, where our transitional homes are located and where we expect youth to come from for the new facility is the third most populous county in Minnesota, with an estimated population of 374,000 (2003). Dakota is one of the fastest growing counties in Minnesota and has an eclectic blend of first, second, third ring suburbs, small towns and rural communities. Approximately 70,000 children attend school in 10 different school districts. It is projected that the youth population (ages 15 -19) will continue to grow.

For the past several years, these and other counties we work with have been requesting that Safe Haven formalize its outreach services and develop non-residential support services for youth and young families. We often receive referrals for youth who don't qualify for county supportive programs because they don't fit the criteria:

they are "too old" (the vast majority of services are targeted at kids 13 and under), they don't have parental consent, they haven't experienced "county approved" out-of-home placement (a criteria for receiving some services), or they are already homeless (at least one county program that is focused on preventing homelessness can't help someone who doesn't currently have a home they are at-risk of losing).

In addition, community-based organizations and local schools also refer youth who are reluctant to seek help and/or who need an approachable person to talk to about their problems. Other examples include someone from a local church who calls us about a youth in the congregation who is talking about running away. The local school districts also call us about 16, 17 & 18 year old kids who sign up for school, but don't have a home address to list, and are later found to be homeless.

Safe Haven helps kids like these in whatever way we can; sometimes we are able to mediate with families and help youth return to their homes, other times we encourage families to temporarily place youth in one of our supportive housing programs. In these and other circumstances, Safe Haven provides support, counseling, advocacy, referrals and sometimes direct services to troubled or homeless youth in the community. The Shepherd's Path project we seek support for will formalize our community outreach services and help us direct youth through our existing continuum of care or to other resources in the community.

Safe Haven Welcome Center

Shepherd of the Lake Evangelical Lutheran Church approached us about the possibility of opening a non-religiously affiliated youth-focused facility on their 60-acre Shepherd's Path social service campus. After exploring several other options including purchasing a building and leasing space in other locations, Safe Haven's board of directors approved a collaboration with Shepherd of the Lake.

In addition to Safe Haven's facility, the Shepherd's Path campus will also encompass senior housing, a YMCA, a Lutheran Social Services office, and an electronic college campus. The goal of our project on this campus is to create supportive services for community youth and youth in foster care and to establish positive, long-term relationships with young people who find themselves struggling or who are at risk of becoming homeless or dependent on public assistance.

Services offered include independent living skills training, therapeutic counseling and support, case management, family community support services and aftercare/follow-up services. Less intensive services will include on site doctor/nurse screening services, free walk-in counseling services for youth and young families, hygiene/personal care services and essential need services. The targeted population is youth ages 15-21. We will reach our target population through a network of county social workers, churches, housing coalitions and schools.

In addition to formalizing our youth outreach efforts, this project will allow Safe Haven to centralize its administrative operations, which are now scattered among 5 separate sites. Safe Haven plans to include volunteers and interns whenever possible in our programming at the center. For example, Augsburg College , a candidate for a Shepherd's Path distance learning center, is interested in arranging internships at our facility for professional psychologists and psychiatrists in training in their graduate school. Other colleges will also be approached.

One aspect of programming at the new center will be independent living skills classes conducted in our commercial kitchen. Since 2000 when we opened our transitional living facilities, Safe Haven has been using a curriculum that teaches youth basic meal preparation and nutrition. With the new facility, youth in our transitional living program can now also learn how to use commercial kitchen equipment and learn how a commercial kitchen is run. And, for the first time, Safe Haven will be able to open its youth Independent Living Skills program up to kids not enrolled in our programs including youth in Foster Care and community youth.

The 7,500 square foot building Safe Haven is constructing will include:

• 875 square feet for administrative offices (existing positions including the Executive Director, Associate Director, Office Administrator and Bookkeeper will office here, as well as 2-3 new staff positions to be created)
• two 120 square foot counseling rooms
• a 500 sq. foot commercial kitchen in which to teach independent living skills and prepare meals
• a 100 square foot medical/dental exam room
• a 3,000 square foot multi-service room that will be used for dining, group and community events, and can be broken into two smaller rooms
• a 1,300 square foot recreational/activity room where youth can be while waiting for an appointment or can just "hang"
• 300 square feet of bathroom, shower and changing room space where homeless youth can shower or clean up
• 500 square feet of administrative storage space

Transportation - The Shepherd's Path campus is located on County Road 42, a major thoroughfare through the community. We also plan to have a van to provide transportation to and from the facility for youth who need assistance getting to us. There is also a transit shelter planned directly across County Road 42 from the Shepherd's Path campus. The presence of several other organizations including a YMCA on the Shepherd's Path campus will also attract youth to our location.

Collaboration - Safe Haven embarks on this project with the enthusiastic support of our community-based, school and county social service partners. Representatives of Dakota, Scott and Carver Counties have agreed that non-residential community based services are vital to create significant change in the success of keeping families together and training young adults to live independently. Prior Lake, Burnsville, and Chaska area schools have referred youth to our programs in the past and have expressed their strong support for this project (in fact the Prior Lake High School principal has offered the services of their habitat for humanity group to help during construction).

Long-term funding - The Shepherd's Path project is a unique opportunity for us to construct a new facility while keeping costs low. Safe Haven is entering into a long-term lease arrangement with Shepherd’s Path. In the first year, Safe Haven will only have the expense of the construction costs and a partial year of operating costs. In the second year, Safe Haven will begin making lease payments on the land (payment will be negotiated based on our ability to secure program funding). An ongoing strategy for keeping operating costs low is extensive use of volunteers, interns and in-kind donations of items and services.

We anticipate that annual operating costs after the first year will remain in the $250,000 range. We are projecting that around $150,000 of the increased expenses will be covered through program services (basically fee-for-service contracts). An estimated 15-25% of operating expenses will be secured through increased foundation and corporate funding (Safe Haven's corporate and foundation funding has been very limited in the past). The remainder of increased operating expenses will be covered through increased support from local businesses, community-based organizations and individuals.

Importance of this Project

The Shepherd's Path capital and program development project will streamline Safe Haven's operations by centralizing and expanding our administrative services. More importantly, this project will allow Safe Haven to serve a new and larger set of youth in the community. Youth who are in trouble or need help, but are not participants in our supportive housing programs will now have an informal, safe place to go for help and support. Safe Haven will also now be able to include youth who are currently placed in foster homes in our independent living skills programs -- one of the most comprehensive in the region.

Safe Haven staff and the community we serve are very excited about the Welcome Center at Shepherd's Path because it provides new opportunities for collaboration among not only other agencies on the Shepherd's Path campus, but schools, churches and county social service programs, it will provide centralized intake services for at least four counties, by offering free services in an accessible location, it will break down barriers for youth seeking help and it will be the first centralized social service facility south of the river.