We are available 24-7, 365 at 800-600-SAFE. Help Line: (847) 249-4450 or (800) 600-SAFE
A Safe Place provides emergency shelter, affordable housing, advocacy, and individual and group supportive services to individuals experiencing domestic violence and/or human trafficking and their children; intervention services for abusers to learn accountability for their choices and actions; and education pr
ograms to build awareness of domestic violence and human trafficking among professionals who encounter survivors and abusers, students in classrooms, and the community-at-large. Our mission-focused work is guided by our philosophy. A Safe Place operates with these beliefs:
Everyone has the right to a violence-free, safe and healthy life. Domestic Violence is a crime defined in the Illinois Domestic Violence Act. Eliminating sex role stereotyping leads to a society that equally values each individual. Violence in intimate relationships is a chosen behavior to exert power and control over another. Violence can be a learned behavior. Through intervention and treatment, alternatives to abusive behavior also can be learned. Children from violent homes experience trauma, suffer psychologically, physically, emotionally and socially. A Safe Place recognizes child witnesses as primary victims of domestic violence. Early intervention, prevention education, domestic violence education, and community awareness can interrupt the intergenerational cycle of violence and reduce the social acceptance of domestic violence. Survivors are traumatized, suffer from low self-esteem and have limited access to resources; all of which keep them trapped in violent relationships. With safety, counseling, and supportive services, survivors of domestic violence experience healing and empowerment, and decide for themselves to live free of violence. A Safe Place must address domestic violence on a local, state, and national level. Legislative and institutional mandates and appropriate responses by police, prosecutors and judges are essential in eliminating domestic violence. Every individual in our community must become more aware of how to prevent, intervene and be less tolerant of domestic violence. Our society must hold individuals responsible for their abusive behavior. A Safe Place strives to create a community where violence is not tolerated or hidden.
