Bridging the Gap while Rebuilding Families and Protecting Children
Authors: Lexi Aldridge, Tayla Begnaud, Cierra Smith, and Kaytlynn Cronic
Faculty Supervisor: Dr. Phillis George
Abstract:
Safe Harbor was founded by Susan and Bob Hamer in 1991. Safe Harbor’s mission is to provide shelter and therapeutic services to any children under the age of 18 who have been abused, abandoned, and/or neglected; who are homeless or have run away from home; or who are otherwise at risk or feel threatened. Safe Harbor is governed by a volunteer board of directors. A private, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) organization, Safe Harbor is licensed by the Georgia Department of Human Resources’ Childcare Licensing Division and receives funds to support its mission from state and federal grants and local fundraising events. In our service learning Sociology class, we chose to pair with this organization to attempt to gain insight towards solving a prominent social problem – domestic issues that lead to the impairment of a youth’s future. This experience taught our small group more about the reality of solving social problems than we could’ve imagined. Community awareness is critical but so are other things like patience, perseverance, kindness, and teamwork.
