July 15, 2007 — The Safety Zone is in the midst of growing pains, but Director Shelley Williams is optimistic the St. John organization will soon be on firmer footing.
"It's vital to the community," Williams said.
The Safety Zone underwent seismic change in January when the board of directors replaced founder Iris Kern with Williams. Although Williams is reluctant to talk about what happened, she said at the time that Kern's departure concerned accountability issues. (See "Safety Zone Board of Directors Severs Ties with Founder Iris Kern.")
Christine Barbich, Terri Lamb, Delrise Varlack, Leslie Smith and Delores Powell now serve on the board.
The Safety Zone has a staff of nine at its Lumberyard shopping complex office, including Williams. They include program managers Don Turner and Gisel Maynard and counselors Katie Cunningham and Eric Lalich. Additionally, Latoya Browne serves as the facilitator of the state incentive grant. Karissa Hyacinth is the administrative assistant. Malica Collazio is the bilingual interpreter.
Since its founding in 1994, the organization has had its ups and downs. In 2003, the organization held a grand opening of its shelter, Lucy's Place, but the building has been closed for the past three years.
The shelter is named after Lucy Keen, whose father, Peter Keen, donated the seed money that got the Safety Zone underway. She committed suicide.
Williams said that the building closed because it wasn't finished. Lucy's Place was intended to be a three-story building, but a shortage of funds will force Williams to downscale its size to two floors.
However, Williams said that she's having trouble finding an architect to volunteer to do the job.
Getting the shelter reopened is just one of the challenges facing Williams and the Safety Zone board. For starters, the Safety Zone, like many non-profit agencies, depends on federal grants funneled through the local government, as well as local government funding. Arrival of the money is erratic and makes planning difficult.
"You are never given the money at the start of the fiscal year," Williams said.
This aspect of the organization's funding made it difficult for Williams to put a dollar figure on its annual budget, but she said it probably stands at about $500,000. She said that optimally, the organization would have a budget of $800,000 to $1.5 million per year.
The organization also raises money through its thrift shop, the Phoenix. The store is now located at the Safety Zone office and is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Despite its budget woes, the Safety Zone continues to provide services. While Williams said the bulk of the clients are victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. The organization also supports a child abuse prevention program.
Williams said the Safety Zone also tackles other St. John ills, such as homelessness and drug abuse by providing referrals for people in need of such services. Because the numbers are low, she put the number of St. John homeless people at about 35, their organization does not qualify for funding in these areas.
Williams said that while St. Thomas and St. Croix have multiple organizations providing a variety of services, the Safety Zone is the only non-profit on St. John to provide any services.
She estimated that the agency serves about 150 clients per year, but many of those the Safety Zone helps come back multiple times. The services provided by the Safety Zone address the growing number of social problems on St. John, she added, and when they're not addressed, violence and criminal activities escalate.
Williams, 42, who was the Safety Zone's financial officer, took over as director in February. A banker by trade, she moved to St. Thomas in 2002 to open her own business. She joined the Safety Zone to continue her history of community involvement. She was recently elected president of Rotary East.
She commutes from her home on St. Thomas, another one of the challenges she faces on a daily basis as Safety Zone director.
"I like the possibilities, the accomplishments and the challenges," she said.
Call the Safety Zone at 693-7233.
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