Women Who Care awards $10,000 to Safe Haven in Traverse City

More than 100 members of Women Who Care Grand Traverse and Leelanau County turned a single evening of grassroots giving into direct help for children and parents in conflict, awarding $10,000 to Safe Haven at Child & Family Services of Northwestern Michigan.

The program is a supervised visitation and safe exchange service, and Child & Family Services says it is designed for families affected by high conflict or domestic violence. The agency says Safe Haven is the only program of its kind in northern Michigan, with visits and exchanges taking place at its site in a child-friendly setting that is open days, evenings, weekends and holidays to fit family schedules.

That flexibility matters because the service is built around immediate safety, not ceremony. Child & Family Services says Safe Haven’s goal is to remove stress from parents so they can focus on building and maintaining positive relationships with their children. For families navigating separations, custody issues or volatile relationships, that can mean a supervised place for a visit, a secure handoff, and a buffer that reduces the risk of conflict.

The award also fits a familiar pattern for the local giving group, which has made a habit of funneling $10,000 grants to Traverse City nonprofits. It selected the Traverse Bay Children’s Advocacy Center for a $10,000 award in 2018 and the TCAPS Student Support Network for a $10,000 grant in 2024, underscoring how the model keeps money circulating quickly to organizations with immediate needs.

Safe Haven is part of a larger nonprofit network that Child & Family Services of Northwestern Michigan says has served Northern Michigan families since 1937. The organization provides foster care, adoption, counseling, behavioral health services, youth services and crisis respite, and says its programs help children, youth, adults and families heal and grow through a trauma-focused lens.

The need also has support from county government. Grand Traverse County commissioners recently approved $20,000 to help fund Safe Haven through the 13th Circuit Court, adding another layer of backing for a program that sits at the intersection of child protection, family court and community giving. In Traverse City, the result is a rare combination: local residents pooling money one night, and children in crisis seeing a practical benefit the same week.