Sheltering Animals & Families Together - SAF-T

05/22/2026

Thank you for reintroducing the Animal Violence Exposes Real Threat of (AVERT) Future Violence Act that would commission a Justice Department study to assess the link between acts of animal cruelty and future violence against others.

This link is the foundation of our work to create safe housing for survivors and their pets. The SAF-T Program supports this legislation.

Please write to your US senator and ask them to support this important legislation.

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) reintroduced bipartisan legislation to help us better...

05/21/2026

My legal expertise is difficult for most people learn about because of their love of animals. But it's important to know how you can help. So while at the Conference on Crimes Against Women, I attended several presentations to learn about other aspects of how women are harmed. Learning how AI is being used is something I cannot unheard or unsee. 😥 Young men and boys are utilizing AI to harm women and girls, they are creating AI girlfriends and sometimes practice harminy them, and they are using AI in dating apps to create an inauthentic profile, communicate, and then when they meet someone in person it is not the same as the communication and can result in physical harm. The overall message is that this is teaching boys and young men to treat females like they have no consent. It was shocking so I'm staying in my legal expertise lane.

04/30/2026

I had the honor of providing a training to the Violence Prevention Alliance (which works along the Lake Michigan lakeshore) on how animal abuse links to domestic violence. As part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, it was also Demin Day. The attendees were fantastic and asked the best questions. The main message was that anyone who is talking with survivors of abuse should always ask if the survivor has pets and are the pets safe. This helps with services, investigations and prosecutions.

Today is Denim Day! Do you know the story behind it?👖

It began in 1999 after a court overturned a sexual assault conviction, arguing that because the teenage victim was wearing tight jeans, she must have helped the attacker remove them, implying consent. The decision sparked global outrage and a denim movement to challenge harmful myths about sexual violence.

Today, we’re wearing denim in solidarity with survivors everywhere. 💙

If you or someone you know needs support after a sexual assault, we offer 24/7 free, confidential help. Just give our Help Line a call at 1-800-848-5991.

We believe you. We support you. We stand with you.

04/24/2026

Harbor House of Central Florida has been a leader in onsite pet housing. We had the privilege of working with them since 2010 and have celebrated how they are saving lives. So when we read this article we could not help but get a little teary eyed.

"While staying at Harbor House, Kimmie Winn said having Pixie (her Chihuahua) by her side helped her cope with the trauma she had endured. “Getting to have her with me really helped me because I could focus on trying to help her work through her own PTSD, and it helped me start to calm down and work on my own,” she said. She said the experience was completely different from previous shelters that did not allow pets."

We are so proud of Harbor House, Kimmie and little Pixie!

With support from Harbor House staff, Kimmie Winn began rebuilding her independence. After 13 years without working, she was able to get a job, something she once thought was impossible.

04/17/2026

This is a tragedy that could have been avoided and it sadly lines up with my recent podcast that I recorded this week. Why was he not arrested for the false police report? Why were the prior women not taken seriously? When we can focus on the red flags of the offender, lives can be saved. This is abject failure of the criminal justice system and if you're like us, we are FED UP because these coercive control crimes happen every day. If you know someone in a dangerous situation (recently filed for divorce, separated or is trying leave abuse), please be there to support them and be very loud to the authorities to document everything.

Absolutely horrific: It’s being called a ‘messy divorce’ -it’s not. Cerina left him and Justin Fairfax chose to murder her rather than walk away. It’s coercive control and domestic violence.

Fairfax repeatedly shot Cerina in the basement of their Annandale home just after midnight before turning the gun on himself, according to police.

The couple’s two teenage children were inside the home at the time of the murder-suicide. Their son was the one who called 911 to report the shootings, cops said.

Also Fairfax murdered Cerina just months after police responded to the family’s home back in January after Fairfax falsely accused his wife of assaulting him 🤬

Investigators later determined he’d LIED after reviewing footage from multiple cameras that the wife had set up inside the home.

In addition at least two women had publicly accused him of sexually assaulting them in 2000 and 2004, according to the California Post.

Vanessa Tyson, an associate professor at Scripps College and fellow at Stanford University, accused Fairfax of ra**ng her at a hotel during the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston.

Then a second woman, Meredith Watson, came forward to claim Fairfax r***d her in a “premeditated and aggressive” attack in 2000 while they were both at Duke.

He maintained the sexual encounters were both consensual and refused to resign.

Cerina filed for divorce in July 2025.
Here’s your reminder - Separation and coercive control are high risk factors for serious harm and femicide 🚩🚩

04/15/2026

Allie is feeling a little spicy on this topic (okay, a lot spicy). She is FED UP with survivors of assaultive crimes being the focus of what happened when, instead, we need to focus on the root cause of the crime ... the offenders. And when the offender is powerful, wealthy and/or famous, there is no meaningful data on those crimes.

Shine the spotlight on the offenders and let the survivors heal in peace while the system works for them, not against them.

Allie shares what she saw as a prosecutor, what she continues to see in a societal, governmental, media and criminal justice response to assaultive crimes against women.

This less than 30 minute podcast comes with some shocking data. ALL of us can change this culture be reframing how we focus on these crimes.

Watch the short intro and then click the link below to dive into this topic.

https://youtu.be/tRGEr_fD4EU

04/10/2026

Congratulations Oasis Women's Center on welcoming survivors with pets! You are truly saving lives.

Domestic violence survivors consistently report that they delayed leaving a dangerous situation because they were not aware of or did not have access to a place where their pet would be safe. This need is especially profound in places such as Illinois, which ranks among the bottom 10 states for available domestic violence resources for people with pets.

Because of this, the 2026 Safe Havens for Pets Desert Grant application cycle offered organizations in Illinois the opportunity to apply for up to $20,000 to expand sheltering resources for the pets of domestic violence survivors. Today, we are pleased to announce that a grant has been awarded to the Oasis Women's Center, which serves five counties in Illinois. Oasis Women’s Center is using the grant to help establish a Companion Animal Support Program—providing a helping paw for domestic violence survivors and their pets.

03/24/2026

This is one of my favorite conferences to attend, give presentations and connect with professionals. If you are working with domestic violence survivors, Conference on Crimes Against Women is the conference to attend.

A study of women seeking shelter at a safe house showed that 71% of those with pets said their partner had threatened, hurt, or killed their animals.

This powerful connection between animal abuse and family violence is the focus of Allie Phillips’ session at .

Allie's workshop will look at the connection between animal abuse and violence against women, why it’s important to recognize animal abuse in homes facing interpersonal violence, and the need for a multi-disciplinary agency response to achieve better outcomes.

Sheltering Animals & Families Together - SAF-T

03/18/2026

Thank you Hooved Animal Humane Society in Woodstock, NY for opening your hearts to domestic violence survivors with horses. When we talk with domestic violence agencies in rural communities, we encourage them to connect with animal organizations and farms that are able to house larger companion animals off site, like horses. Lives will be saved because of your openness to help.

Woodstock-based Hooved Animal Humane Society launches program to help domestic violence survivors prevent abuse happening to their horses.

03/05/2026

If you are in the Lake Michigan lake shore area and work to protect or animals, or just have an interest in knowing how to help your community, I will be talking about how harm to animals impacts people in the home and how you can help. I don't share gory stories or photos, just information and ways that you can help.

Wednesday, April 29, 2026
10:00-11:30 AM
Registration Fee: $45
1.5 Social Work CEs

Registration link in the comments.

This training has been approved by the NASW-Michigan Chapter for 1.5 synchronous General social work CEs: Approval Number 20260429-CA-RAEV.