03/25/2025
As one of the founders and former Executive Director of The Safe Center I felt compelled to create what may be the last Facebook post for the agency. It saddens me to know the doors are closed but when I reflect back on our history, it brings me joy.
I want to take this opportunity to thank many people and organizations that made The Safe Center possible. First, I want to thank my colleague and friend Sandy Oliva. Our partnership was one built on trust and respect and always focused on the work. I am grateful you were so open to possibilities and stood with me side by side to create such an amazing organization for victims of interpersonal violence. Rest in peace my dear friend. I want to thank past and present board members who supported myself and Sandy through this journey.
We were so fortunate that you were willing to take that leap of faith with us, that you trusted us and that you shared your skills and expertise to ensure the merger succeeded and the ongoing operations of the agency were successful. I want to thank the staff, past and present who took the risk with us to create a comprehensive service center for victims. Your dedication and commitment to our mission inspired me. You are the ones that made The Safe Center what it was. You showed up every day ready to work to ensure victims and the community were safer from abuse. Whether you counseled victims, provided advocacy or case management, handled hotline calls, worked with clients at the shelter, answered our phones and greeted our clients, educated our community, fought for clients in court, supported our staff, helped to raise funds or painstakingly handled our finances, you all helped to ensure we saved people’s lives.
As sad and as frustrated as you may be right now, know your efforts did not go unnoticed and I am sure you will go on to continue to achieve great success in this field.
I want to thank our partners from Nassau County Police Department, Nassau County Department of Human Services Child Protective Services, the Nassau County District Attorney and NYU Langone (and prior to that NUMC) for working side by side with us to handle some of the most difficult cases. You are an amazing group of people. I was grateful to be working and living in a County that could make a commitment to collocate all of you with us and I am grateful that all of you were open to it and understood how being together would benefit the victims we all shared and served. Thank you for joining us in this journey.
Thank you to our funders: donors, private foundations, and government. We couldn’t have done this without you. I know that it has been claimed that government funding created the financial crisis that closed the agency, I feel this is neither fair nor accurate. It is because of government (County, State and Federal) that we were able to create and maintain The Safe Center. I am grateful to all of the County Executives Bruce Blakeman, Laura Curran, Ed Mangano, Tom Suozzi and Tom Gulotta who served during my tenure. Each one of you significantly supported the agency and understood how it benefited victims as well as the cases that went to court. This is not something other agencies enjoy in other counties. It was never lost on me how fortunate we were and how amazing it was to have such strong government Partners.
Thank you to all of the volunteers of The Safe Center, whether you were a program or an event volunteer, your efforts helped to grow our agency and support our clients. You gave your time and expertise to ensure the agency was the best it could be. I want to thank my colleagues from the nonprofit sector who supported us as we developed The Safe Center and whose presence on Long Island provides additional services to our clients. In doing so, you helped us move them from victim to survivor. Your support will never be forgotten.
And finally, I want to thank our clients. Thank you for trusting in us and letting us become part of your journey. We were in awe of your strength and resilience and were honored to work with you.
When retiring, passing the torch is never a guarantee that things will stay the same. I am saddened by what has happened and to see the doors of such an important agency close. I feel fortunate that Sandy and I were able to build such good will with all of you and recognized how important all of you were to the success of The Safe Center.
From the bottom of my heart, I thank each and every one of you and I hope you recognize how important your contribution has been.
Cynthia Scott Founder and Former Executive Director
