A Safe Place Cuts The Ribbon On Its New Home

As A Safe Place's executive director Jennifer Frazee cut the ribbon on her agency's new facility on Amelia Drive on Thursday, a small crowd erupted in cheers, tears, hugs, and applause. The day had been many years in the making, after all.

A Safe Place, the island's only non-profit dedicated to the prevention of domestic violence and sexual assault, as well as assisting survivors of both, has been around since 1987, but had never owned its own headquarters. The agency had bounced around from one rental office to another over the years, even as it continued to grow and serve more island residents.

"Most recently, we were on Windy Way and we were in an ever-so-small rental space bursting at the seams," said A Safe Place board chair Jane Loose. "We knew we had to get out of there. We served our clients the best that we could, but we were looking for a long time. We looked at properties where maybe we could build something. We looked at finished buildings that we could renovate. But really, we were getting quite discouraged, because we thought there was just nothing out there. We kept coming up against a wall, and then out of the blue, we got a call from Joe Manning, and he
understood how important A Safe Place is, and he wanted to sell this building to us. So it was a perfect match, and the rest is history."

A Safe Place purchased the property from Manning in November 2024 for $5.65 million. Among those in attendance for Thursday's ribbon-cutting ceremony were Paula and Bernie Swain, who led the capital campaign to acquire the building. 

Also in attendance was one of A Safe Place's founders, island attorney Rhoda Weinman, along with numerous current and former board members, along with Matthew MacEachern and the crew from J. Brown Builders, who designed and completed the renovations of the building.

"In thinking about the move to 19 Amelia Drive, I really have been doing a lot of reminiscing about the last 18 years, and it really has just been so heartwarming to think where we've come from," said A Safe Place executive director Jennifer Frazee. "I'm so thankful and honored that I've been in this position, that I've been able to support survivors. And I think about all the, probably thousands of survivors that we've served in this time. There are so many now living and thriving in our community, free from violence and abuse, and beyond this community as well. And that's just really heartwarming that I've had the honor to be in this position. I'm so thankful for all the wonderful staff we have, all of our current staff here, but I've just been so lucky in those 18 years to work with so many wonderful people."