Our Purpose/Mission
The purpose of Safe Harbor Peer Support Services is to provide a welcoming, physically and emotionally safe environment where Delaware and Morrow County adults with mental illness can receive peer support, socialization, education and opportunities to work on their mental health recovery.
Our mission is to increase the level of self esteem, independence and quality of life of adult residents of Delaware and Morrow County who are currently or have in the past experienced mental illness regardless of the severity or age of onset.
We accomplish this by.....
- operating two consumer run drop-in centers, one in Delaware, OH, the other in Edison, OH. At these centers, adult consumers can receive socialization, friendship and peer support in a safe and welcoming environment.
- providing and promoting educational programs that teach consumers and their families and care givers about mental illness, positive mental health and recovery.
- promoting and supporting activities that teach and encourage mental health consumers to take responsibility for their own growth and personal recovery.
- modeling and encouraging self advocacy (standing up for yourself) efforts.
- developing and fostering consumer awareness of civic pride and responsibility and by sponsoring and participating in activities that give back to the community in which we live.
Our History
Safe Harbor Peer Support Services originally began as two separate organizations - The Group of Delaware County (doing business as Annie's Outreach) and No Limits Outreach Center. Both centers had the same mission, served the same type of target population and provided basically the same type of services. Staff and consumers interacted with each other frequently and we had the same support and networking system. In December, 2007, after much deliberation, the Board of Trustees of both centers decided that by joining together, we could become a stronger, more stable organization to provide services to and advocate for people who experienced mental illness in both counties. As of July 1, 2008, we have been known as Safe Harbor Peer Support Services. We operate out of two sites - Annie's Outreach Center in Delaware, OH and No Limits Outreach Center in Edison, OH. Certified by the Ohio Department of Mental Health, we are the only consumer run, private, non-profit 501(c)3, peer support organization operating in Delaware and Morrow Counties. In order to support the programs and services both sites provide, Safe Harbor receives state and local funds as well as conducts its own fundraising activities.
Besides being a drop-in center where people can come for a cup of coffee and socialize, each center offers a variety of services and activities planned and implemented by consumers. These services and activities are designed to help you and your family in your battle with mental illness.
At Safe Harbor, we believe that no matter how severe your mental illness is, you have a right to be treated with respect and to have your thoughts and opinions heard. We believe in self-directed recovery - that is, a recovery in which we, the consumers, are in control of what happens to us. We make the decisions. We are the leader of our recovery team! We also believe that peer support has a unique and important role in the treatment and recovery of people with mental illness that only fellow survivors can provide.
