In 1986, a group of concerned citizens in Garfield County joined together to respond to both a growing awareness of domestic violence and the need for comprehensive services for domestic violence survivors and their children. In the spring of 1987, Advocate Safehouse Project was incorporated, volunteer advocates were recruited, a 24-Hour Help Line and volunteer safehomes were established, and a free weekly women’s support group with child care was made available. In 1991, the agency expanded services to include survivors of sexual assault. Since 1996, Advocate Safehouse Project has offered all services in English and Spanish.

In 1993, Advocate Safehouse Project acquired and rehabilitated a facility to be used for a Safehouse Program. In 1999 & 2000, Advocate Safehouse Project completed a capital expansion project which doubled the space for the organization. In 2008, after 14 years of use (598 families with 618 children for 17,821 nights of shelter) the Safehouse was in dire need of a “Facelift”. This work was necessary in order to correct major structural problems in the building, providing easier maintenance of the facility and to “freshen up” the interior.

Advocate Safehouse Project is the only program in Garfield County offering comprehensive and confidential services for survivors of domestic and/or sexual violence and their children. It should be noted that Advocate Safehouse Project is the only safehouse program in the Roaring Fork Valley and one of only eleven on Colorado’s western slope.