Simpson Bay, St. Maarten — Staff team member of Safe Haven SXM, Shelley Gordon, was celebrated last night by Mid Isle Rotary Club St. Maarten at the Wasabi Charlie restaurant. Shelley was nominated by Rotarian Grace Linger for her leadership capabilities, professionalism and very big and warm heart and was given the “Vocational Award”.
Shelley is from England where she was a police and food inspection officer. Shelley’s story is quite remarkable: she was a former client at Safe Haven who worked and persevered to gain emotional and psychological strength after withstanding abuse from her ex-husband. She is the soon to be Care Coordinator of the client care program at Safe Haven, commencing March 1st of this year. She is currently the head house mother at the shelter.
Shelley is a fair but firm leader, encouraging members of her team to take initiative, inspiring growth, education and compassion and encourages her team of 5 fierce women to always learn and go the extra mile. She herself always goes the extra mile, coordinating services for Domestic Violence (DV) clients, organizing various aspects of the shelter, speaking out about DV in the community so that others can gain insight about DV and give them a sense of comfort that they need not feel alone.
Ms. Linger remarked to the audience of nearly 40, “Shelley, after hurricane Irma, gave up her own bed at the shelter so that a new incoming client could have refuge from a dangerous situation because Safe Haven had lost bedrooms due to the horrific storm.”On behalf of Safe Haven Management and Staff, we would like to encourage the SXM community to help us celebrate the gift that is Shelley Gordon. Without her testimonials and personal life experiences where she spoke about the circumstances of domestic and intimate partner violence to SXM community members, Safe Haven Foundation SXM would not have been able to navigate the discussion of domestic violence with such depth and insight.
Congratulations on your award and thank you, Shelley, from the bottom of our hearts. We salute you…
Wonderful early morning show with Elektra of 
