History, Vision, and Values

The Rape Crisis Domestic Violence Safe Haven program began with a dream. In 1997 The Rape Crisis Service of Ashland County became the only county-wide program providing support and advocacy for individuals who had experienced sexual assault in their lives.  Less than 10 years later, Safe Haven opened its doors and began offering shelter and related services on October 16th, 2006.

As a dual program (sexual violence and domestic violence), Safe Haven continues to support survivors in Ashland County by offering FREE safe shelter, domestic violence, stalking, and rape crisis support and advocacy 24/7, 365 days a year. Our program is a member of the Ohio Domestic Violence Network and Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence and considered a Rape Crisis Center in the State of Ohio.

Rape Crisis Domestic Violence Safe Haven is a program of Appleseed Community Mental Health Inc.

Our Values

  • Compassion: We care deeply about primary and secondary victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, stalking, human trafficking, and dating violence.
  • Safety/Shelter: Provide safe shelter to victims and their children fleeing domestic violence, dating violence, stalking and human trafficking.
  • Accountability: We hold ourselves accountable to all victims, survivors, community and funding sources.
  • Collaboration: We work as a team in the community and with victims and survivors to ensure resources are available.
  • Passion: We are propelled by the belief that sexual assault and domestic violence can be stopped.
  • Trained Staff: Our staff and volunteers are trained to provide trauma informed and victim-centered service delivery, support, and advocacy to victims/survivors, empowering victims by focusing on personal decision-making. 

Vision

To enrich our community by restoring hope to families and individuals so they can live healthy, whole, and productive lives.

Appleseed's History

Appleseed was founded in 1992 concentrating in providing adult mental health services; counseling, case management, crisis intervention, pre-hospitalization screening, diagnosis and medication/somatic. In 1993 the agency added housing services for low and moderate income people.  Two apartments were purchased in 1994 through a grant from the Ohio Department of Mental Health to house individuals with severe mental disability. Services for children and families were added in 1995 and Appleseed became a full service mental health agency.

Under the umbrella of Appleseed, the following supporting programs are also provided to Ashland County community members: Rape Crisis Domestic Violence Safe Haven, Community/School Liaison program,  Co-Occurring, Use Disorder Program, SPARK program, Keeping Families Strong home-based services, and the Supported Employment program.

Appleseed, as a multi-service agency, provides high quality, research-based, affordable, accessible, and outcome-driven services to help people improve their lives and develop necessary skills to live, learn, and work successfully in our community. The agency has grown from its beginning with 12 employees serving only adults seeking mental health treatment to its current role in the community offering mental health care to all ages, services in all of the local schools systems, co-occurring substance use and mental health services, employment services, 24-hour crisis mental health intervention, community housing  programming, and 24/7 domestic violence and sexual assault shelter and support services.

Values

  • Respect: Recognize the value of each person for their unique qualities and inherent right to be treated with and spoken to with respect in all client and staff interactions.
  • Learning and Growth: Provide staff with the opportunities to grow from experiences at Appleseed. In return, staff will demonstrate learning and growth in their respective roles.
  • Fiscal Responsibility: Operate within budget • Adhere to best practices regarding billing and collecting • Maintain a cash reserve • Secure an annual independent audit
  • Excellence: Appleseed and its employees will strive to fulfill the agency’s mission by creating a culture that embraces continuous improvement, program evaluation, data analysis, and a quest for excellence.