What does it truly mean to feel safe as a survivor?

By Anai, Case Manager at the Hope Center

My name is Anai, a Housing Case Manager at the Hope Center, and I am writing today to share a story with you about what it truly means to feel safe as a survivor.

Safety and safe housing are something we so often take for granted. For many survivors, safe housing means so much more than just four walls and a roof. Too often, survivors are placed in housing that doesn’t consider their lived experiences.

Clients struggle to stabilize in unsafe or unsuitable housing, and it is our goal to prevent that for them. Without this safety, clients aren't able to start the healing process.

In my work, I witness this regularly. I work alongside clients to locate housing that is both safe and affordable, a combination that is more complex than it appears.

Most affordable housing in San Francisco is located in neighborhoods that are settings for many of the traumatic experiences clients have faced. Once, I had a client who was placed in a building located mere blocks from where she had experienced trauma. My client had four walls and a roof, but she was still not safe. I worked with her to get her out of that apartment and into a place where she can feel safe.

This was not an easy task as the affordability is practically nonexistent. We searched and searched and finally were able to find a safe space for my client in  a very residential part of the city.

I need to make sure that my clients get into a place where they can actually promote healing. That is my number one priority. To put people in a place where they can heal. Where they can actually thrive.

Once this happens, often this means so much more than just four walls and a roof. It means a client can finally leave the streets or an overcrowded shelter – that they’ll sleep in a safe place for the first time in a long time. It means they feel secure, welcomed into the community, and filled with joy at the chance to start living again. For me, that’s what keeps me motivated to continue this work – to keep helping people rebuild their lives, one person at a time.

Last month, after months of patience, meetings, and relentless apartment hunting, I housed 2 new clients in permanent, safe apartments.

Clients like M.A., who came to SafeHouse carrying the weight of a recent experience with domestic violence. She recalls being "welcomed by the nicest, heartwarming, empathetic, and nurturing individuals," who made her feel safe. Her Case Manager helped find her an apartment in a SAFE neighborhood, assisted her with a deposit and rental assistance, and helped her furnish it to make it a home.

Her biggest breakthrough was realizing that safety isn't a privilege, but a right. She says, "I am no longer stuck in survival mode. I'm focused on growing, caring for my children, and working toward goals I once thought were out of my reach." M.A. just graduated from nursing school this Summer.

This is the heart of what SafeHouse is. Not just four walls, not just a roof, but a place where survivors can truly feel safe.

*“Women” includes women with trans or non-binary experience.