Calvert County’s Safe Harbor Program Now Under Nonprofit Umbrella

PRINCE FREDERICK, Md. — A county-run program for domestic violence survivors will be shifting to nonprofit management in fiscal year 2027. Safe Harbor, a shelter service, is currently run by the Calvert County Health Department. In the coming months, management will move to the nonprofit Calvert Safe Housing Network, with support from the county.

Calvert Safe Housing Network is a new nonprofit in the county and was founded early in 2025. The organization’s mission is to provide short-term solutions, particularly housing, for survivors of domestic and sexual violence, while also working on long-term solutions.

“No one should have to choose between having safety and having a home,” said Peg Hacskaylo, the executive director for Calvert Safe Housing Network.

The group’s programs include short-term housing for up to six months, affordable housing placement, emergency financial assistance, and crisis intervention management, case management and safety planning.

Since founding earlier this year, Calvert Safe Housing Network has helped 31 adults and their 21 children escape abuse. They’ve also enabled 13 survivors to find affordable, independent housing.

During the Jan. 13 meeting, the County Commissioners praised the work of Calvert Safe Housing Network and said they’d seen how much the group has done in just a year.

Jennifer Moreland, director of Community Resources, noted that Hacskaylo had launched the nonprofit quickly and had the experience to bring Safe Harbor under her wing to continue creating wraparound services that truly help survivors.

“One of our main goals is to identify human services gaps, system gaps,” Moreland said. She added that in her years serving domestic violence survivors, housing and case management has been a frequent topic of conversations. “I think this is a really special partnership.”

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