RESIDENTIAL PROGRAM

The Mountain Rose Safe House is a comforting and welcoming home where women and children come to find a refuge. In 2008, a total of 12 women and 23 children were able to use the safe house as a temporary home which enabled them to “get back on their feet” and begin to re-build their lives. The Mountain Rose Safe House is an empowering program which offers a wide variety of services to those who want to start a life free of violence. Residents participate in case management two times a week, educational sessions one time per week and support groups one or two evenings per week.

The safe house is a place where clients can collect themselves, look at their lives, assess their needs and plan for the future. It is a 60-day program that can shelter up to three families. TWS provides shelter, food, and day to day living essentials, allowing the families to save money towards independent living. The residential program also offers peer counseling, licensed therapy, domestic violence and sexual assault education, pattern-changing techniques, therapy-like art projects, assistance with organizing finances, advocacy and accompaniment to different appointments, transportation, children’s program services and legal assistance. The Residential Program staff work daily with the residents to make the most of their time at the Safe House. The women are in control of their choices and their future, the Residential Program simply helps facilitate and support the process of living a life free of violence.

For more information on the Mountain Rose Safe House program, please contact the Residential Program manager at: 530-582-9117.

See the Safe House Wish List.

SAFE HOUSE SUCCESS STORY
Susan (not her real name) moved into the Mountain Rose Safe House in June of 2006 with her four year old daughter. She had lived with her boyfriend in the Los Angeles area for several years. She moved to North Lake Tahoe in order to escape eight years of physical and financial abuse.

Susan shared with the staff about the struggles she had endured with her batterer. One thing she revealed was that he controlled all the money and would never give her enough to buy food for their daughter. She didn’t know when they would be able to eat next. Other times he would physically abuse her in front of their child. Susan began to see how it was negatively affecting her daughter, and she knew that she couldn’t raise her in an abusive home.

When Susan arrived at the shelter she had very low self-esteem, didn’t have a job, and didn’t know any red flags or signs of domestic violence. The residential staff gave Susan a gift certificate to a local salon where she could pamper herself. Each week the staff would work with Susan to educate her on the cycle of violence, and the effects of domestic violence on children. With time, she was able to identify the impact that domestic violence had on herself and on her daughter. The staff also worked towards her understanding that she had the ability to make decisions and healthy choices for her family. As a result of her improved self-esteem and concept of self worth, she was able to get a job for herself.

During her two month stay, Susan was able to save enough money to get a place for herself and her daughter. She learned that she deserved to not live in fear everyday, wondering whether she would be able to feed her family. She was empowered to live independently, and she was grateful for the freedom to make her own choices.
At the end of the program Susan moved into her own home, maintained her job and started saving money. She stopped by the office a few days after she moved out with a card for the staff that read:

Dear staff:
Thank you so much for all that you have done for my daughter and me, I don’t know how to repay you. To each and all of you I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. May God repay you and keep you well and hope that my daughter and I have a chance to keep in touch. Sorry for all the times that you had to put up with us. Thank you again and hope that this is not good bye but just a farewell.

Attentively,
Susan