Safe Voices has received a $20,000 Safe Housing grant from national animal welfare nonprofit RedRover to ensure the agency’s newest domestic abuse emergency shelter will be pet friendly.

The new shelter, due to begin accepting residents in early 2023, is located in Farmington. It is the only domestic abuse shelter serving this rural and underserved area, and having it equipped to welcome pets makes it more accessible to survivors, according to a news release from Save Voices.

“Safe Voices knows the power of animals to help people heal, and it’s so important to us to ensure that survivors entering our shelter are able to do so with the pet they know, love, and will bring them comfort,” said Safe Voices Director of Shelter & Housing Noelle Coyne. “These animals have often been subject to the abuser’s mistreatment, so having a pet-friendly shelter is not just good for survivors — it’s also safest for pets — and we’re so grateful to work with RedRover, because they understand all of that.”

Safe Voices’ Androscoggin County shelter became the first pet-friendly domestic abuse shelter in Maine in 2019, thanks in part to another RedRover grant. With this newest $20,000 grant, Safe Voices’ new location in Franklin County will create four pet-friendly rooms equipped with pet furnishings, which will have direct access to an outdoor fenced area for playtime and pet relief.

The shelter will be able to shelter cats, dogs, fish, small mammals, and “pocket pets” (hamsters, mice, and rats).

According to RedRover President and CEO Nicole Forsyth, “Pets are family and a source of great comfort at a time of crisis. We’re thrilled our grant can help Safe Voices provide spaces for survivors and their beloved pets so that they can begin their healing process together.”

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