Our history….

Emily Newman, president & founder, had been assisting three or four of her older neighbors for several years.  Because of her efforts, her name was given to Lynn Mulkey who was then the Chairperson for Coalition for Aging in Place for Beaufort County (CAP) which is an offshoot of Together for Beaufort.

Lynn held a meeting at Emily’s home in late January 2009. Jim Glasson with CAP and Emily helped complete a needs assessment for the island community on March 8, 2009. From this meeting, several people were identified who wanted to start a "village organization." 

Villages are non-profit, grassroots, membership organizations that are redefining aging by being a key resource to community members wishing to age in place. Villages are a social support network for their members that provide necessary services (such as transportation, technology assistance, running errands), community engagement activities and other important resources crucial to aging interdependently.  According to Village-to-Village Network, there are at least 250 villages through the United States and abroad.

 After a meeting with the executive director of the Penn's Village, the island group became dedicated to assisting islanders who wish to safely age in their homes. One community, one island….neighbors helping neighbors.

CAP (Coalition for Aging in Place in Beaufort County) gave Safe Harbour a $1500 start up grant. The founding board decided to become independent and set up their own non-profit status which as obtained in August 2009 and our 501(C)3 status from the IRS was granted on November 22, 2009.

Safe Harbour obtained a physical office in the summer of 2010 and expanded into two small office rooms and one large meeting/media room on the north end of Hilton Head Island. In 2023 we relocated to 75 Captial Drive and now share an office with Meals on Wheels across from Deep Well.

Since our inception, we have trained a diverse group of volunteers and have assisted members of various ages, backgrounds, races and economic status. Potential members are interviewed on a regular basis. Due to the nature of our organization, some weeks and seasons are more volunteer intensive that others and since volunteers have other commitments, we are in need of a large group of volunteers to meet the needs of our members. Volunteers are carefully screened and undergo background checks.

Our Mission statement is our basic goal. We accept members regardless of race or economic status from anywhere on the Island to include Jenkins Island and Windmill Harbour.