When a List Isn’t Enough: Why I Built Safe Steps

I did not create Safe Steps Alabama Community Connections because I thought Alabama needed another organization with another list of resources. I created it because I know what it feels like to be the person holding that list and still have no idea what to do next. After leaving a relationship that traumatized my children and me, it took three years to find safe housing. I was given housing lottery links, outdated flyers, phone numbers, and referrals. What I needed was guidance. I needed someone to help me understand my options, tell me what the next step was, and give me somewhere to return when the first option did not work. That experience stayed with me. In 2024, I returned to college and began studying forensic psychology. I graduated in 2026 with my bachelor's degree and a 3.75 GPA and immediately began pursuing my Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. But education was only one part of what I wanted to do. In January 2026, I founded Safe Steps Alabama. That work eventually became Safe Steps Alabama Community Connections, a survivor led nonprofit based in Athens, Alabama. Our work focuses on resource navigation, systems awareness, community education, advocacy, and collaboration. We help people better understand available resources and determine their next steps while building relationships with the organizations already doing important work in our communities. That last part matters tremendously to me. I do not believe community work should be a competition. If another organization already provides a service well, I do not want to recreate it so our name can be attached to it. I want to know that organization. I want to understand what they provide and help people find them. Community Connections also means creating ways for ordinary people to participate. That belief led me to create the Safe Steps Community Connections Crew, an inclusive community group where people of different ages, backgrounds, and abilities can participate in volunteer projects, awareness initiatives, events, and community activities. Everyone has something they can contribute. We are still a young organization, and I am proud to say that. We are learning. We are building relationships. We are showing up. We are asking other organizations how we can help instead of always asking what they can do for us. My children are also getting to watch this story unfold. They remember a version of our family that was simply trying to survive. Today, our life is wonderfully ordinary. After chaos, boring is peaceful. I hope that as they grow older, they understand what happened next. I hope they see that their mother took something that nearly destroyed her and used what she learned to make the road a little easier for someone coming behind her. I cannot promise someone that I will have every answer. What I can say is, “I’m here to help you figure it out.” Sometimes that is where safety begins.