Supporting & Serving
Wallowa County
Dear Community,
I am writing this letter with a heavy heart because what I’m about to share is not simply an organizational struggle; it is a matter of life and safety for the people who live here in Wallowa County. For decades, Safe Harbors has been the place where survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and trafficking come when they are terrified, hurt, alone, or running for their lives. We have been the voice that answers the phone when someone whispers, “I need help.” We have been in a safe room where a mother and her children can breathe again after escaping violence. We have been the steady hand someone reaches for in the darkest moment of their life.
But today, Safe Harbors is facing a crisis we never imagined. For the first time in our history, we did not receive any of our federal grants. This funding loss, a $337,000 shortfall for 2026, was not caused by anything we did wrong. We passed every review this year with excellence, including the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). The reality is heartbreaking and straightforward: almost all federal grants to Oregon were awarded to agencies along I-5, but even that was cut to a small percentage. Rural programs like ours were left without support.
If Safe Harbors cannot remain open, this is what will happen to survivors in our community:
• They will have nowhere local to go when they flee abuse in the middle of the night.
• Children who have witnessed violence will lose.
• Survivors of sexual assault will endure exams alone, without an advocate to support them, or will not even get the exams.
• Victims will be forced to return to violent homes because there is no shelter in their own county.
• Crisis calls will go unanswered.
• Law enforcement will respond to dangerous situations with no advocate by their side.
• People in extreme danger will be left isolated, unheard, and unprotected.
In a big city, there are multiple agencies. In Wallowa County, there is only one. If Safe Harbors closes, the safety net disappears. I wish I could explain the weight of this. I wish you could hear the tremble in a survivor’s voice at 2 a.m. or see the fear in a child’s eyes when they arrive at our door. I wish you could hear the relief in their whisper: “I didn’t think anyone would help me, so I stayed.”
We are doing everything in our power, fighting, writing, planning, applying, stretching every dollar, but we cannot save Safe Harbors alone.
We need you. Survivors need you. Wallowa County needs you.
You can donate securely on our Donate Page today.
If you’d like to talk, ask questions, or explore sponsorship, please reach out to me personally at 503-407-1263 or cassy@safeharbors.org.
This has been one of the most challenging times of my career. The worry is about the people who will have no one to turn to if Safe Harbors cannot continue. But I am not giving up, not on them or on this community. With your help, Safe Harbors will remain the place survivors can run to when they have nowhere else to go.
With deep gratitude and hope,
Cassy Griggs
Executive Director
Safe Harbors Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Resource Center
Enterprise, Oregon
Dear Community,
I am writing this letter with a heavy heart because what I’m about to share is not simply an organizational struggle; it is a matter of life and safety for the people who live here in Wallowa County. For decades, Safe Harbors has been the place where survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and trafficking come when they are terrified, hurt, alone, or running for their lives. We have been the voice that answers the phone when someone whispers, “I need help.” We have been in a safe room where a mother and her children can breathe again after escaping violence. We have been the steady hand someone reaches for in the darkest moment of their life.
But today, Safe Harbors is facing a crisis we never imagined. For the first time in our history, we did not receive any of our federal grants. This funding loss, a $337,000 shortfall for 2026, was not caused by anything we did wrong. We passed every review this year with excellence, including the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW). The reality is heartbreaking and straightforward: almost all federal grants to Oregon were awarded to agencies along I-5, but even that was cut to a small percentage. Rural programs like ours were left without support.
If Safe Harbors cannot remain open, this is what will happen to survivors in our community:
• They will have nowhere local to go when they flee abuse in the middle of the night.
• Children who have witnessed violence will lose.
• Survivors of sexual assault will endure exams alone, without an advocate to support them, or will not even get the exams.
• Victims will be forced to return to violent homes because there is no shelter in their own county.
• Crisis calls will go unanswered.
• Law enforcement will respond to dangerous situations with no advocate by their side.
• People in extreme danger will be left isolated, unheard, and unprotected.
In a big city, there are multiple agencies. In Wallowa County, there is only one. If Safe Harbors closes, the safety net disappears. I wish I could explain the weight of this. I wish you could hear the tremble in a survivor’s voice at 2 a.m. or see the fear in a child’s eyes when they arrive at our door. I wish you could hear the relief in their whisper: “I didn’t think anyone would help me, so I stayed.”
We are doing everything in our power, fighting, writing, planning, applying, stretching every dollar, but we cannot save Safe Harbors alone.
We need you. Survivors need you. Wallowa County needs you.
You can donate securely on our Donate Page today.
If you’d like to talk, ask questions, or explore sponsorship, please reach out to me personally at 503-407-1263 or cassy@safeharbors.org.
This has been one of the most challenging times of my career. The worry is about the people who will have no one to turn to if Safe Harbors cannot continue. But I am not giving up, not on them or on this community. With your help, Safe Harbors will remain the place survivors can run to when they have nowhere else to go.
With deep gratitude and hope,
Cassy Griggs
Executive Director
Safe Harbors Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Resource Center
Enterprise, Oregon