I am delighted to share the news that I’ve been invited to serve on the Board of Directors for HAVEN NH, the new umbrella organization formed when SASS (Sexual Assault Support Services) and A Safe Place merged last November. My Mom was a SASS Board member for many years and I have hoped to find some way to contribute my energy to their cause. Now I’m thrilled to help them pursue their mission of protecting, sheltering, advocating for and educating New Hampshire families grappling with domestic violence and sexual assault. HAVEN provides a crisis hotline; advocates who can escort victims to emergency rooms or shelters; classroom educators who use puppets and role play to discuss body safety, boundaries and other issues; and a shelter for women and families in need. While HAVEN is based in the Seacoast, they also coordinate with the NH Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence to help families across the state.

I will be learning much, much more about this great organization’s past successes and plans for the future, but for now I refer you to their website at HAVEN. Also, I have jumped feet-first into the No More Challenge fundraiser, in which HAVEN is competing to win $50,000 from Verizon to further their goals! If you’d like to contribute, I have made a fundraising page linked to HAVEN’s CrowdRise campaign, and you can find it HERE.

I’ll leave you with a great picture of two HAVEN educators, Emily Murphy and Rhiannon Duke, in the classroom with their puppets, a heart-warming image to balance out the seriousness of the cause. Love to you all!

Sexual Assault Support Services educator Emily Murphy, left, holds puppet Lene and interacts with puppet Gwen, held by SASS educator Rhiannon Duke, who is also part of the Americore Victim Assistance Program. The educators use the puppets to demonstrate how they talk to kids in elementary schools about body safety through their prevention education program.
Deb Cram/dcram@seacoastonline.com