Our Story

The Mission of Safe Connections is to reduce the impact and incidence of relationship violence and sexual assault through education, crisis intervention, counseling and support services.

Success Stories Get Involved


Agency Overview

Safe Connections is proud to be one of the St. Louis region’s oldest and largest organizations working to prevent and end domestic and sexual violence while helping survivors thrive. Our services in prevention education, crisis intervention and counseling make a big difference for families and the health of our community.

Over 40 Years of Service

Over 40 years ago, Safe Connections started as the Women’s Self Help Center. Today, Safe Connections is a well-established and innovative nonprofit leader in the St. Louis region. We work to reduce the impact and incidence of domestic and sexual violence through individual and group therapy, 24-Hour crisis intervention, and prevention education programming. Additionally, Safe Connections serves nearly 20,000 individuals each year, inclusive of all genders and sexual orientations.

In 1976, we began as a grassroots domestic violence crisis hotline. Quickly, counseling services for victims of abuse became necessary, so we hired our first mental health therapists. In 1988, responding to research and our own recognition that breaking the cycle of violence must include youth, we developed Project HART (Healthy Alternatives for Relationships among Teens).

Safe Connections is the largest, most established, and awarded nonprofit in the St. Louis area focused on ending domestic and sexual violence. Additionally, all of our services have a history of measurable success and are completely free of charge.

Safe Connections is the longest-standing domestic/sexual violence dual-focused nonprofit in St. Louis accredited by the national Council on Accreditation (COA). We are accredited based on our best practice standards for governance, risk management, human resources, financial management, and programs. Additionally, we are Better Business Bureau Accredited. In 2018, Charity Navigator awarded us the top 4-Star Rating for the fourth consecutive year.

Agency Story

The Lotus in our Logo

The Safe Connections logo features the Lotus flower. It symbolizes purity and rebirth across many different cultures and religions. In murky waters, Lotus flowers grow from the mud and ultimately rise above the surface of the water as a beautiful bloom. Thus, the flower is a symbol for the work Safe Connections does to help survivors rebuild and reclaim their lives after abuse.

The Use of Pronouns on safeconnections.org

According to the most comprehensive national study by the U.S. Department of Justice on family and relationship violence, the vast majority of domestic violence and sexual assault victims are female, and the vast majority of perpetrators are male. For that reason, feminine pronouns are used on this site when referring to victims of violence, and male pronouns are primarily used when referring to perpetrators of violence. This should not detract from the fact that the perpetrator might be female while the victim is male or of the same gender. All victims are deserving of compassion and services to address the violence in their lives.

Safe Connections is a 501(c)(3). We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, citizenship status, national origin, ancestry, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, religion, creed, physical or mental disability, marital status, veteran status, political affiliation or any other factor protected by law.