Mt. Graham Safe House, Inc. (MGSH) was formed in 1995 to provide short term emergency housing to victims of domestic violence and their children. The director realized that shelter alone simply wasn’t enough to make a real difference. Advocacy services were quickly added.
In 1998, services for victims of sexual assault were added. Advocates will respond to emergency rooms in the MGSH service area for both victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. Transitional Housing was added in 2000. In 2008, male victims were welcomed in to the residential area. In 2009, kennels were built on property to allow pets to be sheltered and with their families and be free of abuse. In 2012 MGSH transitioned to a reduced rules facility.
At this time MGSH is a 32 bed crisis shelter offering supportive service to victims of domestic or sexual violence and their children. Services are also provided to child witnesses of domestic violence. MGSH also has a transitional intervention program
The communities that we serve are Graham, Greenlee and Northern Cochise Counties. Services that we provide our in-house and non-resident clients are mobile advocacy. For example: we transport clients to civil standbys; we will transport clients to look for employment, to look for new housing, to interview them for our housing program and to transport to court. We will assist with Orders of Protection and will attend court with you in cases of domestic or sexual violence. We also give referrals and have a large resource list, a housing program is offered if you meet the criteria with help up to 3 months. There is a Domestic Violence Task Force that we head in Graham and Greenlee Counties and we are members of the Graham and Greenlee Chamber of Commerce. We are out in your community putting out flyers, brochures and shoe cards at local businesses with information on how we can be of help or if someone needs our help. In addition to the main shelter in Safford, we have an office in the Gila Health Resource building in Morenci, Arizona. Safe Dating classes are taught at Morenci High School and Graham County High Schools. We offer classes for domestic and sexual violence, parenting, Allstate Financial, crafting and baking/cooking classes. Our children’s advocate also meets with the children every night and they have a project to work on how they have been affected. We provide Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center with kits to give to victims of sexual assault to make them feel more comfortable after the examination. It includes soft clothing and new undergarments along with hygiene items. We hand out hygiene packages for the homeless, which include water and a snack. We are not just a shelter.
We are so appreciative for the donations that our surrounding community has provided us during this pandemic and in the past. Mt Graham Safe House is a member of the Graham Greenlee Tax Credit Coalition (GGTCC). The GGTCC promotes the Arizona Charitable Tax Credit, a dollar-for-dollar state tax credit of up to $800 for those filing jointly, or $400 if filing individually! You can receive this tax credit on your Arizona state income tax return by donating to a local qualified nonprofit organization. To learn more about this opportunity, visit www.grahamgreenleetcc.org. The GGTCC is administered by the Arizona Community Foundation of the Gila Valley and can be reached at grahamgreenleetcc@gmail.com. You can contact the Safe House at 928-348-9548 in Safford, 928-793-4053 in Morenci, Hotline number 888-269-9104, mylivechat.com, Google Voice Text Line at 626-733-8431
