Every year in Shelby County women and children seek refuge from abusive homes in the arms of rescue shelters like SafeHouse of Shelby County. Now, with the opening of SafeHouse of Shelby County&8217;s new Caroline E. Jackson Center for Women and Children, the center will further its outreach even more, but only with continued support of the community. The new comprehensive facility can house roughly up to 60 people, so now even more families in the county will be able to receive counseling and assistance with rebuilding their lives.

Executive director Susan Hawkins was adamant that they did not want the new house to feel like charity. &8220;We want to restore dignity to families,&8221; she said. And SafeHouse offers several ways to do just that. Free individual and group counseling is available confidentially

to survivors of domestic abuse and/or sexual assault and their families. Services are also available for children who have witnessed abuse or been victims of abuse, and SafeHouse has a child development center that provides therapeutic daycare for preschool-aged children

who are now free of that violence. However to continue providing assistance, Safehouse and other county shelters need support from generous hearts like Caroline Jackson and the volunteers who change victims&8217; lives. For more information on how you can better lives in Shelby county go to www.safehouse.org or call 664-5930. Also, if you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence or sexual assault, don&8217;t wait to get help. Call the county&8217;s local crisis line at 664-HELP (4357)