New shelter update: Haven’s ops director explains security measures, safety at new public-facing shelter
For more than 40 years, Haven has operated a confidential, hidden-location shelter for domestic violence survivors in Bozeman. Haven’s new shelter, The Barnard Center (opening in spring 2023!), embraces a new model of providing shelter – what’s called a secure, disclosed location. In this Q&A, Haven’s Director of Operations Katie Madison talks about what that means.
Haven Director of Operations Katie Madison in front of Haven’s new shelter, The Barnard Center.
Q: Let’s start with a story. How has your understanding evolved, of Haven’s change from a confidential, hidden location for 40+ years, to this public-facing model that’s been the trend for the past decade or so?
Katie Madison:
I remember when this site (of The Barnard Center) was still a total construction zone. I walked through it with my family, and they had all of these questions about security. And those questions were based in the notion that the old shelter’s confidential location was secure because it was a secret. And so why would you move to a place where that secret is not held? And I found myself kind of challenged. I mean, I had that same feeling: “Oh my gosh, the new shelter’s going to be out in the open and people are going to know.” And I didn’t know how to answer those questions, even for my people.
And then as I was learning more about security protocols, and learning more about the transition from the confidential location to the disclosed location, the thing that was most compelling to me was: If your entire security or the bulk of your security depends on people holding a secret, you don't have a secure location. That’s not secure.
And so when you recognize that, then I think you have the opportunity to intentionally design a space where security is paramount, it's spoken about, it's improved upon. It becomes an essential piece of the program. And then you can have more ownership, and you can then work intentionally to create a safe space. And that feels so much better than (relying on) “I hope no one finds out.”
The other important part of this is the shift away from having to hide. A hidden location means we’re furthering the stigma, deepening the stigma, when we’re offering shelter that means survivors need to hide themselves from the community. And so to be able to say that this is a safe place where we meet people where they are, we work with them to empower them to make the right decisions for themselves in the moment, we’re able to talk about resources, and to do that in the light of day. So the community can see what the need is, and be connected to an understanding of the problem, and to be part of the solution. The disclosed location makes all of that possible.
And so those parts all felt really compelling to me as I learned about the program. And then as far as the security goes, you're able to reach out to a whole community of experts who can talk to you about how to keep the space safe. And unfortunately, in our society, right now, we talk a lot about the potential for violence in spaces.
Q: What are some of the measures that Haven is taking to instill confidence and hopefully a sense of safety for people who are working and living here?
Katie Madison:
It's twofold: The confidentiality safety piece, as well as the physical safety piece.
Anyone that comes to our facility, to our space, is vetted through a database, which helps us make sure that no one is coming on site that could compromise the confidentiality or the security of any individual that is seeking services here. And so that is very important.
The physical safety: Every entrance has a controlled access. Without giving away any details of that, (just know) that you can’t just walk into the building. And we require 24 hours’ notice for anyone coming on site.
We also have a secure perimeter. We have various tools that monitor our perimeter – and this is an external focus. It’s not an internal focus. We’re not recording what's happening within the campus. But we are monitoring the entire perimeter so that no one would gain access to the campus without knowledge or permission. And that has been a real focus for us. There's both a physical fence and then an invisible perimeter fence, so that if someone were to try to gain entry, our staff would be notified. And we would work with law enforcement to respond immediately to any threat.
Q: What is Haven’s relationship with law enforcement?
Katie Madison:
We're strengthening relationships with law enforcement. We have a police substation on site, and law enforcement is welcome to do their work from our facility. That is building a relationship with a team of professionals in our community who are going to be our partners in keeping this space safe, while at the same time understanding that many of the survivors we support may not want to interact with police. So while, for example, the Bozeman Police Department has this substation on site, the shelter campus is designed so that residents won’t have to interact with police officers.
Thank you to this community for making this transition possible!