- April 7, 2016
- 10:08 am
- John Caltagirone
- no comments
Member Spotlight: A Safe Haven Foundation, Transforming the Double Bottomline
Neli Vazquez Rowland, a ’85 alum of Loyola University Chicago, founded A Safe Haven Foundation in 1994. With the “double bottom line” (saving money and saving lives in the long term), Neli created an organization with the goal to end the circle of poverty and allow marginalized individuals in society to gain financial stability.
ASHF, located on Chicago’s West Side, drives to aspire, transform, and sustain the lives of those who enter their many programs. Facilities on-site include a clinic, classrooms for GED courses, counseling rooms, and a fully staffed kitchen operated by folks who are residing or training at A Safe Haven. Such on-site facilities allow individuals to gain access to health, mental, and behavioral care services, educational services, job training, and job placement. The location also has a chapel that doubles as an overnight youth shelter and has residencies for individuals showing financial need and veterans seeking to become financially stable.
What is most ingenious about A Safe Haven Foundation’s operational model is its stance on sustainability. More than often money is thrown at the problem rather than correcting it. Thousands of homeless individuals across the nation are given options that are short-term plans/fixes for their situation. ASHF has built a platform to address the underlying causes of homelessness and poverty, thereby breaking the cycle and helping to put individuals onto a path of permanent self-sufficiency.
Through its social enterprises including catering services, landscaping contracting, talent resource management sector, and pest control service, the organization creates a constant revenue stream while also providing individuals with valuable training and job experience that they can take beyond their time at ASHF.
With strong ties to Loyola’s Jesuit values of social justice and as an initiative of the Urban Social Benefit Incubator under the Supply & Value Chain Center, the SVCC currently has students volunteering their business acumen and skills to develop more efficient and lean operational processes of selected social enterprises at A Safe Haven. The center is also looking to help partner A Safe Haven Foundation with local Chicago companies for jobs in warehousing, distribution, and/or packaging located relatively in Southern Chicago. If your company or organization is interested or has more questions, please contact Riti Patel at rpatel33@luc.edu.
For more information on A Safe Haven and their programs, volunteer opportunities, and upcoming fundraisers, click here.
Written by Riti Patel, Program Coordinator at Supply & Value Chain Center. To learn more about the center, its team, and its offerings, click here.