Safe Horizon: At a Glance

Safe Horizon is the nation’s leading victim assistance organization and touches the lives of more than 250,000 affected by crime and abuse each year. Whether we are responding to child abuse, domestic violence, or other violent crimes, we help victims and their families heal and rebuild their lives.

Safe Horizon takes action by providing practical services like a new lock, 24-hour hotlines, safe shelter, and food as well as supportive services like mental health counseling. Our dedicated staff offers compassionate, expert support, helping victims find hope by offering a chance to tell their story in their own words, a guide through the criminal justice system, and a safe place to sleep.

Our services are models for programs across the country and around the world, and our staff provides critical technical assistance, education and training to service providers, government organizations, corporations and the media worldwide. Our experience for over a quarter of a century gives us a credible voice for leading change in systems, policies, and legislation. We are recognized as national leaders and are sought out as experts on violence and victimization.

Safe Horizon also raises awareness of issues of violence and abuse, and its impact on the home, the workplace, and communities. Through speaking engagements, media and online outreach, integrated public awareness campaigns, and distribution of public service materials, Safe Horizon reaches millions of people each year, educating the public and inspiring them to take action to help move victims of violence from crisis to confidence.

Helping Communities and Individuals Impacted by Crime and Abuse

Safe Horizon Community Offices offer crisis intervention, practical support, information, education and referrals, individual and group counseling for victims of any type of crime or form of abuse, including people coping with the murder of their loved ones. Our experienced counselors provide families with long-term individual and group counseling and keep them apprised of criminal proceedings. Safe Horizon’s Counseling Center, the only New York State-licensed treatment program for victims of crime, provides mental health services to address the long-term effects of trauma.

Helping Children Lessen the Trauma of Abuse

Safe Horizon’s Child Advocacy Centers operate in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island and provide a safe, child-friendly environment to minimize the trauma of the investigation of child sexual and physical abuse. These centers house representatives of the New York Police Department, Administration for Children Services, Offices of the District Attorneys and representatives of child abuse centers from area hospitals.

Providing 24-hour Lifelines to Crime Victims

Safe Horizon offers compassionate, expert services through our three hotlines: the New York City Domestic Violence Hotline; the Sexual Assault, Rape, and Incest Hotline; and the Crime Victims Hotline. More than 160,000 victims of crime and abuse call Safe Horizon’s 24-hour hotlines each year. Hotline crisis intervention specialists provide callers with support and access to emergency lock replacement, shelter and referrals to a comprehensive array of services that can further assist them.

Helping Victims of Domestic Violence

Safe Horizon offers help and hope for victims of crime and abuse and their families, including crisis intervention, safety planning, education, advocacy, emotional support and counseling. Victims can access our services throughout the city – from our borough-wide community offices, to the family and criminal courts, to our counseling center and our Streetwork drop-in center for young people on the streets.

Safe Horizon is the largest provider of domestic violence emergency housing in the nation. In addition, our staff are stationed at select police precincts to assist police in responding to domestic violence calls. Our Domestic Violence Law Project also helps victims of crime and abuse obtain orders of protection and pro-bono legal assistance in divorce cases and custody matters.

Addressing Domestic Violence in the Workplace

At Safe Horizon, we know that domestic violence impacts the lives of thousands of working women and men every day and affects the financial strength and success of the companies for which they work. SafeWork is a national movement to empower corporate America to address domestic violence in the workplace. Through education and training, research and public awareness, we help companies keep their employees safe and protect their bottom line.

Supporting Victims of Stalking

Safe Horizon was the first organization in New York State to develop services that focus on the unique needs of victims of stalking by helping them in moments of crisis and beyond through short-term individual counseling and emotional support, advocacy within the criminal justice system, and assistance with the documentation of stalking incidents. Safe Horizon also offers victims of sexual assault and their families emergency and practical assistance, advocacy in the courts and accompaniment to grand jury, and individual and group counseling.

Helping Families and Individuals in the Courts

In more than 30 Family and Criminal Court offices throughout the five boroughs, Safe Horizon provides crisis intervention, counseling, legal assistance and advocacy for those in need of orders of protection or help with court-ordered restitution. Our Children’s Centers provide free, supportive and educational child-care for young victims and witnesses, as well as children whose caregivers must appear in court. In Brooklyn and Manhattan, Safe Horizon mediation programs provide dispute resolution services outside of the court process.

Helping Youth Prevent and Cope with Violence in Their Lives

Many youth are victims of gang violence, bullying, and child and relationship abuse. They witness domestic violence and are exposed to violence in their community. Safe Horizon youth programs provide an opportunity to increase self-esteem and reduce the violence in their lives through school-based programs that teach students, teachers and parents conflict resolution skills, one-on-one peer education, mediation, and leadership development. Safe Horizon’s Streetwork Project provides homeless and street-involved youth with social services and resources that promote health and safety for this population.

Providing Advocacy and Assistance for Victims of Trafficking

Safe Horizon offers a lifeline for victims and survivors of human trafficking, providing a range of services including intensive case management, shelter, legal services, and mental health care. From the point of rescue until the stabilization, our case managers work with trafficked persons to explain their options and provide access to needed resources. We coordinate efforts with local and Federal law enforcement, to ensure that victims’ needs are addressed and that the criminal justice system holds traffickers accountable. Safe Horizon also operates the New York City Anti-Trafficking Network, a coalition of diverse service providers whose mission is to combat trafficking and ensure trafficked persons’ needs are recognized and addressed. Safe Horizon staff are sought out as experts on this issue by organizations around the world.