SAINT PAUL — Today, Secretary of State Steve Simon recognized 25 Minnesotans from 19 organizations for their commitment to and partnership with the Secretary of State’s Safe at Home program over the last decade. Each individual serves as a Safe at Home Application Assistant and was recognized at an awards ceremony held today at the State Capitol.
Safe at Home is an address confidentiality program designed to assist Minnesotans who wish to keep the location of their physical residence private for personal safety reasons, often because they are victims of domestic violence and stalking. The program has enrolled over 6,300 people since its inception in 2007.
Application Assistants, employed by organizations throughout the state, are specially trained to assist people who would like to enroll in Safe at Home. People who want to enroll in Safe at Home meet face-to-face with an Application Assistant to discuss their safety concerns and the Application Assistant works with them to determine whether enrolling in Safe at Home is a good safety step for them to take. There are currently over 250 trained Application Assistants throughout Minnesota.
“For over a decade, Safe at Home has played a critical role in helping protect victims of domestic violence and other Minnesotans who fear for their safety, and it would not have been possible without the dedication and commitment of these individuals,” said Secretary Simon.
Secretary Simon also presented the Medallion Award from the National Association of Secretaries of State—the highest honor that a secretary of state can make—to Harriette Darrough for more than 30 years of victim advocacy work in Minnesota. Darrough, recently retired, spent 18 years serving Minnesotans at Tubman, an organization based in Minneapolis and Maplewood that helps those struggling with relationship violence.
“Harriette Darrough has dedicated her life to providing domestic violence services to thousands of women, men, children and families in Minnesota, and I’m proud to recognize her for her heroic and life-saving work,” said Secretary Simon.
Participants enrolled in the Safe at Home program use a post office box as their legal address for all purposes so they can go about their daily lives without risk of the persons they fear discovering their physical address. First-Class Mail sent to the post office box is forwarded to the participant’s physical address by the Secretary of State.
Secretary Simon visits with a number of Safe at Home partner organizations every year while traveling the state. In 2017, alone, he has already visited with organizations in Blaine, Caledonia, Chaska, Eagan, Mora, Litchfield, Monticello, Montevideo, Olivia, Owatonna, Redwood Falls, Shakopee, Two Harbors, Wadena, Waseca and Willmar.
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The following organizations had a Safe at Home Application Assistant recognized at today’s ceremony. For security reasons, media interested in the names of these individuals should contact the organization in their respective area(s).
Advocates Against Domestic Abuse
Alexandra House
Blue Earth County Attorney’s Office
Bluff Country Family Resources
Carver County Attorney’s Office
Chisago County Attorney’s Office
Chippewa County Victim Witness Program
Cornerstone
Dakota County Attorney’s Office
Dodge, Fillmore, Olmsted County-Victim Services
Hope Center
Hope Coalition
Lakes Crisis & Resource Center
Marshall County Victim Services
Morrison County Attorney’s Office
Rape and Abuse Crisis Center of Fargo-Moorhead
Someplace Safe
The Saint Paul & Ramsey County Domestic Abuse Intervention Project
Tubman