Community

A Haven of Peace offered to Stockton Women and Children

One in four women experience severe intimate partner physical violence. When women build the courage to leave these situations, often with their children, they often have nowhere to go and no resources to provide.

Published

4 years ago

June 25, 2021

Christy Price

Volkan Olmez/ Unsplash

“On average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. In one year, this equates to more than 10 million women and men,” according to National Statistics for Domestic Violence

To put this further into perspective, one in four women experience severe intimate partner physical violence. When women build the courage to leave these situations, often with their children, they often have nowhere to go and no resources to provide.

Places like Haven of Peace offer women and children a sanctuary to escape to in times like these. In 1957, women from 13 churches formed a temporary Board of Directors for the organization that would later become Haven of Peace, which would be the first homeless shelter for women and children in the San Joaquin Valley.

This group found a two-story home and turned it into the first shelter, later expanding to their primary location in French Camp, Calif.

Haven of Peace exists to provide women and children the tools to become self-sufficient. While many women who come to Haven are experiencing domestic violence, others come from jail, the streets or are displaced due to job loss.

The women who stay are all 18 years old or older, along with children of all ages for girls and up to 8 years old for boys, due to dormitory limitations.

Services include; Resident Case Management, Education Center, Life Skills Program, Parenting Classes, Financial Literacy, Bible Study and Devotionals, Book Bag Program, Transitional and Supportive Housing, Résumé Writing and Job Preparation, Drug and Alcohol Relapse Prevention, Individual and Group Counseling, Domestic and Sexual Abuse Support, Referrals, and Healthy Eaters Learning Program (H.E.L.P.) Nutrition Classes.

Haven for Peace is located at 7070 S. Harlan Road in French Camp, which is just outside of Stockton. Hours are Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Call (209) 982-0396 for information, concerns, or ways to donate/volunteer.