Donnelle’s Safe Haven in Braddock, PA

In 2021 The Heliotrope Foundation and Z’akiyah House began collaborating on the creation of Donnelle’s Safe Haven, a home for women transitioning out of extreme crises such as homelessness or incarceration. 

Beginning with a property donated by Heliotrope founder Caledonia Curry, The Heliotrope Foundation worked to support the vision and efforts of Za'kiyah House founder Ronna Davis Moore by providing architectural consultation, assistance for renovations, as well as amplifying their core message that trauma-informed care matters, and healing is always possible. 

Each of the Z’akiyah House homes is a sober living facility that assists individuals along the journey to self-sufficiency by helping them access the resources they need, including recovery support, group & individual counselling, education, mental health treatment & employment strategies. Each resident is partnered with a life coach and encouraged to explore their own healing, as they work to rebuild the practical necessities required to create security and stability.

Donnelle’s Safe Haven fills a unique need in its community by making sure that women who reside there have a safe space to bring their children for visits, thereby ensuring that their children are not lost to the foster system. Ronna Davis Moore, a formerly incarcerated person herself, understands how difficult it can be to navigate the various branches of the social services for someone who is experiencing mental health crises or other extreme difficulties. Her work seeks to bridge the gaps in our social support systems that otherwise allow people to fall through. 

Named after Ronna’s youngest daughter Donnelle, a child who has grown up within the movement for social justice and always known the strong stable care of her mother, Donnelle’s Safe Haven seeks to break cycles of intergenerational trauma. 

Heliotrope’s history of work in Braddock, our dedication to using creativity to address urgent social needs, and our desire to support a movement for reparations by re-enfranchising the black community with land and property has made this a very special collaboration. 

Ronna’s motto is “Ask yourself if you could survive what another person has gone through, and then if the answer is no, ask yourself how you can help them.” Donnelle’s Safe Haven is one answer to that question.