By Shari L. Shapiro, Executive Director, Kids In Crisis
Every day, thousands of cars pass our little unmarked campus on Post Road. People drive to work, to school, and to holiday parties. They pass with coffee cups in hand and children in the back seat, thinking about their day.
Most of them never notice us.
Most don’t think about what happens behind our quiet walls.
But this December, something big is happening here: every room at SafeHaven is full… a reality that feels especially heavy during the holidays and yet shows that our doors are doing exactly what they’re meant to do.
And if you’ve never thought about youth homelessness in our community, if it sounds like something that happens “somewhere else” … you’re not alone. Many families are surprised when they learn we run an emergency shelter for children right here in town. It’s not what people picture when they think of Fairfield County. But it has always been part of our story.
The truth is that instability is everywhere right now. You can feel it in the news, in the heaviness parents carry, and in the phone calls coming into our 24/7 helpline at all hours of the night. Kids are absorbing all of it, often more than we realize. And for some, home doesn’t feel like a safe place.
That’s why the SafeHaven Emergency Children’s Shelter exists.
Inside this house you’ve driven past a hundred times; something extraordinary happens each day. A child who hasn’t slept safely in weeks gets their first full night of rest. A teenager who hasn’t felt heard in months sits at the kitchen table with a counselor who listens without judgment. A young person who has been bouncing between relatives finally puts their backpack down somewhere they know they can stay.
“Home” is not a building.
It’s safety.
It’s consistency.
It’s being welcomed without conditions.
A few mornings ago, one of our counselors was getting ready to drive a young resident to school. A box of winter clothing had just arrived from one of our corporate partners. She reached in and pulled out a warm, insulated coat, one that looked like it would fit the young boy, and held it out as he slipped his arms through the sleeves.
He tugged the zipper up to his chin, pressed his hands into the pockets.
Then he said, almost to himself, “I’ve never had a warm coat that fits me.”
For you and me, a coat is just something you grab on the way out the door. For him, it was something entirely different… a kind of permission to feel safe, protected, and cared for. A reminder that he wasn’t an afterthought. That he belonged somewhere.
Behind these walls, that’s what we try to build every day.
But the need doesn’t stop at the shelter door. Instability isn’t always dramatic. It doesn’t always look like homelessness. Sometimes it looks like a child sleeping at a friend’s house because they’re afraid to go home. Or a teen staying late at school because it feels calmer than the living room they left that morning. Or a parent who calls our Helpline at 10 p.m. because they’ve run out of ideas and don’t want to say the wrong thing to their child.
Here’s something most people don’t know: most of our helpline calls come from parents, not kids. Moms and dads are trying, really trying, to keep up with the emotional weight their children are carrying.
You’re not alone. None of us are.
And for the young people who do need a safe place to stay, SafeHaven is here, 365 days a year, including every holiday. While the rest of town winds down for celebrations, our lights stay on, our counselors stay present, and our doors stay open. No child in our community should ever have to wonder where they’ll sleep tonight.
That’s the quiet promise of this little building on Post Road.
As we head into the new year, I hope we hold onto one truth: the most meaningful part of the holidays isn’t perfection, it’s connection. It’s the moments when we notice each other, check in on our neighbors, ask a child how they’re really doing, or offer a listening ear before offering advice.
We can’t fix everything for every child. But we can build a community where every young person feels there is at least one safe place they can turn to, whether that’s SafeHaven, a TeenTalk counselor in school, or our 24/7 helpline.
And if this season feels heavy for you or someone you love, please call us. Day or night. Big problems or small ones. The Kids In Crisis 24/7 Helpline is always open at 203-661-1911. Sometimes the hardest part is reaching out. We’ll take it from there.
