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Date: 2/16/26
Duration: 15:37
Guest: Lauren Wilkie
Website: https://safelightfamily.org/
Listen on Spotify:
Summary:
Living Local with Frisbee Real Estate | Episode 23 Summary Special Guest: Lauren Wilkie, CEO of Safelight (Hendersonville, NC)
In Episode 23 of Living Local with Frisbee Real Estate, Ed sits down with Lauren Wilkie, CEO of Safelight, a long-standing Hendersonville nonprofit providing life-changing support for people impacted by violence, abuse, and exploitation. Lauren shares how Safelight has grown over its 42-year history, including multiple mergers that expanded the organization into a full continuum of services for survivors across Western North Carolina.
Lauren explains that Safelight’s work most often begins with domestic and family violence, followed by child abuse, sexual assault, elder abuse, and human trafficking. These are heavy topics, but the mission is clear: Safelight focuses on both prevention through education and direct support that helps people find safety, regain stability, and rebuild their lives.
One of the biggest takeaways from the episode is how wide Safelight’s reach really is. Lauren shares that the organization has helped tens of thousands of people over the years, and served 1,312 clients last year alone, with most clients coming from Henderson County, while others travel in from surrounding areas seeking safety. Safelight also removes a major barrier that keeps many survivors trapped: they are one of the few shelters that allows pets on site, partnering with Blue Ridge Humane Society to provide an indoor kennel with space for dogs and cats. That means people don’t have to choose between leaving an unsafe situation and leaving a beloved pet behind.
Lauren emphasizes that if someone needs help, the first step is simple: call Safelight’s 24/7 hotline. You don’t have to know which program fits, just reach out and they’ll guide you from there.
24/7 Hotline: 828-693-3840
Website: safelightfamily.org
The episode also spotlights Safelight’s community-facing efforts, including their job training and empowerment programs. Ed and Lauren talk about Dandelion Cafe, Safelight’s downtown Hendersonville café known for its shrimp and grits, where individuals rebuild job skills and confidence through structured work experience during school hours. Safelight also operates a resale store (open Tuesday through Saturday) that accepts donations and helps stock clothing and household essentials for people arriving in crisis and those transitioning into new homes. Lauren mentions that Safelight keeps an updated wishlist on their website, often including high-need items like cleaning supplies, especially during cold and flu season.
To wrap things up, Lauren shares local favorites for visitors, including Flat Rock Playhouse, DuPont State Forest for easy-access waterfalls, and popular restaurants like Shine and Hearth and Heron. She also gives a shout-out to Mini Batch Bakery for seasonal treats. The episode ends on a lighter note with the show’s “Finish the Lyric” game, where Lauren holds her own with classic rock favorites.
If you’re looking for ways to support a trusted nonprofit in Hendersonville, Safelight offers multiple options: volunteering, donating goods, shopping the resale store, visiting Dandelion Cafe, attending events, or simply sharing resources with someone who may need help.
For immediate support or to learn more, visit safelightfamily.org or call 828-693-3840.
Watch on YouTube:
Transcript:
Hey, thanks again for joining us. I'm super excited. Our special guest today, this is Lauren Wilkie and she is with SafeLight. Lauren, thanks so much for taking time to join us today. We've been trying to get this together for several weeks. We had some weather. Weather and schedules and all that. So thank you very much. I'm super interested to hear what you do and what SafeLight does for the community. So give us a quick overview and I'm sure I'll have some questions. So I'm the CEO for SafeLight. This summer will be six years that I've been in this role. We've grown in our 42 years as a nonprofit. We have had three mergers and now we are a full continuum of services for folks who've experienced violence, abuse or exploitation. And so for us, that looks statistically in order, like domestic or family violence, followed by child abuse, followed by ⁓ sexual assault, then elder abuse and human trafficking. Guys, those are heavy. Topics especially now more than ever. Yeah, and our job is to not just do a lot of community education awareness For prevention but also to make sure those that we're serving that are they're finding safety and they're getting back on their feet and back into the community Wow, good for y'all. So it's been going on for 42 years and Are you able to say how many people you've helped in those 42? yeah over 47,000 last year alone 1312 And is that typically just from this area? So that's a great question. The majority of our clients across our seven programs are from this area. We see every year about 80, 85 percent Henderson County. However, we do have a few programs and services that cause people to get to us, especially if they're trying to flee from another county to get to safety. We're also one of the few shelter providers that allow pets on site. So we have an in. side pet kennel as part of our shelter for those who are fleeing violence or abuse. It's a partnership with Blue Ridge Humane Society. We have three dog kennels and four cat kennels. Wow. That's a great idea and I would think much needed. Yeah, when we were getting hotline calls of people who would not leave because they wouldn't leave their pet behind, we said let's figure out how to drop that barrier. Took a few years, but we built it. That's awesome. Great for y'all. So tell us. early on in the conversation, if somebody's hearing this and they know they, hey, we know somebody that has this need, what's the process? Yeah, the biggest thing for you to take away today, if nothing else, is to call our 24-7 hotline, ask questions to get linked to CARE. You don't have to memorize all of our programs and services. You just have to know where to get started. So 828-693-3840 or safelightfamily.org will get you started to figure out how we can help next. Gotcha. That's great. ⁓ And it's all kinds of, you have all kinds of people calling in. We do. The majority of our calls are for our services, whether they're someone that's needing one of our programs or a donor or a volunteer. However, we get calls from the community of people who might need just a list of homeless resources or food resources or ⁓ housing support. So we'll share that information and get people to the right next step. Wow. And some of the... opportunities you have for people to help them get plugged back into the community. One of them is Dandelion. It is. We are famous for our shrimp and grits at Dandelion Cafe. You have to come have them with me. I'm inviting you right now. You're super famous for that and I've never been. best in the area. And this is speaking from someone who grew up near Charleston, South Carolina. There is ⁓ just a love that goes into all the food we make, but those are extra special. But we're open for lunch, but we also do private breakfast meetings for eight or more that you can schedule with us. And we do private caterings. I hosted one last night for Women United for Galentine's Day. That's great. So where, how do people find out about that? it a different website? it's on our website as well. But also you could call us. Same phone number? you follow us. They actually have a different phone number, but I don't know that I could say it by heart just now. you can call our hotline and get linked to it. But call us, follow us on Facebook, and it's going to make you hungry, I promise. And it's open lunch Monday through Friday? Monday through Friday, yes. Specifically, our cafe and our job training program has our resale store. The cafe is only open so that the folks who were retraining and working with us to rebuild their job skills and their resumes and get back on their feet, they don't have to have child care because they're only working during school hours. Gotcha. Well thought out. Yes. and it's located corner of 4th and Church. that correct? 5th and Church. Oh, see it right across from the parking garage, which is free for parking 59 minutes or less. Oh, I didn't know that. know. A lot of people don't realize. You just got to throw your timer on and get out. That's great. So what other... So the resale shop, you take donations? We do. We take donations through the resale store. It's open Tuesday through Saturday. And we use all those donations not only to help with our fundraising, but also with people who are coming through the middle of the night fleeing who might need clothing. We use it to restock people who are moving ⁓ out into their own homes. So we'll stock the house, but we do serve men, women, and children. So we do have men's clothing, children's, women's, housewares, some furniture. We're small, so we don't have a lot of furniture, but we do take that as well and help people get restocked as they move out. Are there any needs you... tend to have more than others as far as Constantly. We keep an updated wish list on our website and even link it to Amazon to make it easy for deliveries. Yeah, that's a great idea. Right now, lots of Lysol wipes and cleaning and things like that because we're in flu season. So we're going through them at astronomical rates. And are you from the area? I am not, although my dad's family was one of the three founding families of Cedar Mountain or DuPont. Granddad moved away, I moved back. So even though we were up there a couple hundred years, I'm a newbie. I know. But I bought my grandparents' house they built. that's awesome. So you like being back? I love being back. I love this area. I love, I've always sort of been here with Graham Harrison family through most holidays. So I'm thrilled to be part of the community again. Well, we're glad you're here. Tell us when people come to visit, do you have a suggestion on, you gotta go see this, you gotta go do this in the area? For the area? my gosh, there's so many great things. I love Flat Rock Playhouse. I love Going to Shine. And we were just talking about Hearthen here and I'll be there tonight. For hiking, DuPont Forest is the best. There's just so many waterfalls and trips. That's there most weekends. Yep. And it's easy. Easy walking too. It's easy unless you want to get off on some of harder paths. So you have a choice to keep it lighter or go real. I choose light. And how about ⁓ food? You said Shine and Hearth and Hair. Do have any others you recommend? my gosh, besides Danny Lion Cafe, that's hard to beat. On the weekend. On the weekend. You know, if it's early in the morning, I'm going to Mini Batch Bakery to go see Stacey and get some of those goods. and I was just looking, they have King Cakes right now for special for Marty Gross and I think I'm gonna have to go get one. Have you tried their King Cake? haven't tried it. but their pastries are on point. Maybe I need to go try that. As we were recording Fat Tuesdays just a few days away. is. So you're welcome, Stacey. I've tried to get them on here. she's great. They're busy. Let's see, what else can you tell us about... safe light. Is there anything we've missed so far or something people need to know? Make sure if you're in need to come check us out, give us a call. Let's get you leading into services. If you want to volunteer or donate, give us a call and we're going to link you in. We have a lot of variety of opportunities. We're growing. Our shelter is already the largest in western North Carolina for survivors, but we're adding seven more bedrooms this spring. So we're getting those ready to open so we can continue to help more people. That's great and sad. It is sad that it's a me, but I'm thrilled that we're always a yes. Yep. That's awesome. Yeah. All right. So the website is safe like family dot org. You got it. All right. And the phone number you gave and I don't remember eight to eight six nine three three eight four zero. Perfect. We still have time, I think. One of my favorite things to do. We started a few weeks ago as the ⁓ finished the line and I asked you what you should be. I asked you before before we started. So here we do, these are songs, popular songs, and you get to choose country, rock, pop, or Christian songs, and then choose the decades. We have 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000, 2010s, and current. I'm going to go rock 90s. Rock 90s. I don't know if we've done that yet. Our most successful was country 80s. Let's see. That wouldn't be for me. Unless it's Dolly Parton. I got you. I'm always working past nine to five. So it's glumped into 80s, 90s. Okay. All right. But these are easy. I think they're softball. So I'm just reading the lyrics, not humming or anything. And I think that makes it harder. ⁓ I got my first real sixth string. You know, it's a lot harder when there's no sale. know. No, I need the tune. I would fail at this every time. Yeah. It's Summer of 69 is the song title. Summer of 69. I know like that, but I don't know then what's next. Bought it at the Five and Dime was the finish. Okay, it's the next. Okay. Yeah. All right. So this will be easier for you. This is another, think it's an 80s, but it was still popular today. ⁓ Whoa, we're halfway there. Living on a prayer. Wow, that's awesome. Lauren, you're doing excellent. That's Living on a Prayer, Bon Jovi. Isn't that 80s? It's every decade. Yeah, we still play it at ball games. decade it's written. Yeah. All right, here's another one. Last one. ⁓ Just a small town girl. Living in a small town world. Yeah, and living in a lonely world. Lonely world. could have been small town too. And that's Don't Stop Believing Journey. Yeah. Good job. Glee really brought that one back to you back in the early 2000s. That's funny. ⁓ Well, since we're still on rock, this goes back, but these are these are famous. Let's see what else we have here. Wait, no, give me the famous ones. Don't give me that first one. I still have no idea who was that. Brian Adams. ⁓ shucks. What's the next line? I got my first real six string, bought it at the five and dime. ⁓ OK. Yeah. Now I can hear it. I'm not humming it, sorry. See, this is a classic rock. Sing us a song, you're the piano man. Oh my gosh, I can hear it in my spine already. Sing us a song. I mean, that's Elton John, isn't it? Close, Billy Joel. Ah, I can hear it. Sing us a song tonight. Alright, so we'll see how you do. You're from, where are from? South Carolina? Well, this may not work. Well, it gives away the line, so you just have to finish it. Sweet home Alabama. Yeah. Where the skies are so blue. Yeah, perfect. Leonard Skinner. Yeah. Alright, that's Sweet Home Alabama. Alright, this isn't rock, but since you seem to know the classics. Give me some Beatles. ⁓ Sweet Caroline. Good job Neil Diamond. Did you happen to see the movie Song Song Blue that came out last fall? But now I'm gonna go watch it. It's really good. It's a lot of Neil Diamond songs. Yeah. It's made me cue up Neil Diamond on my Apple I'm okay with that. Yes. I listened to him this morning. What did you ask me to yeah. Hey Jude. Hey Jude. Don't. be so sad or don't make it bad don't make it bad take a sad song and make it better that's very good lauren you have a very nice voice i'm known for that you're just asking my husband i think you're the first one to hum or sing so good job well it makes it easier to get it out don't you think i absolutely ⁓ well this is kind of pop but you're doing so well we'll wrap it up with this one i've never used this one uh-oh You are the dancing queen. Seven only 17. Yeah, young and sweet only seven. Yep, I haven't listened to in a long time. We actually played that in the day and a lot. ⁓ a lot of ABBA gets put on. Carolina, would think. Not as much. I'm just thinking like our crew is there kind of getting set up and ready like there tends to be a lot of ABBA. So is the diversity in ages, I guess people that come? Absolutely. I mean, especially with kids, it's all ages. But for different programs, we see different ages for when people are ready to work on their story and get help and get to safety. The majority of people are really 25 to 40. It's so hard to imagine. So I'm thankful. I'm glad we're here. Yep. But there's so many questions I want to ask, but I feel like I shouldn't ask just for security and safety and all that stuff. But So again, people wanna help or volunteer, safelightfamily.org or call the number 828- 693-3840. Awesome, it's a great- I'm glad I can remember that. Yeah, that's really good. Cause I'm not wearing a cheat sheet. ⁓ That's a great ⁓ nonprofit to support. Thank you. With a great cause. ⁓ help in our community. And yeah, you can support by volunteering, donating to the store, coming to our events. Another great way is our new product line, which you could buy at our store or cafe, which we are making as part of our job training now. So come get some homemade focaccia. ⁓ I know. And it's Valentine's Day time. So come get our double chocolate round bar. Wow. That's very interesting. Thank you, Lauren. All right. Our time's out, almost out. We're 30 seconds or under. So thank you, Lauren, very much. Lauren Wilkie, SafeLight, safelightfamily.org. Please check them out. Volunteer, donate. ⁓ It's a great cause. So, as always, we like to say, keep living local.