A Safe Place

The Crescenta Valley Chamber of Commerce is proud to be a designated Safe Place.  We were asked by the YMCA of the Foothills, a longtime member of the Chamber, to offer our office as a place for youth to come if ever they are in trouble and need assistance. Our job is to offer a compassionate ear and a safe place to sit until the Y’s trained professionals arrive and attend to the youths’ specific needs. Here’s a little more information about this important program facilitated by the social responsibility arm of the Y and its leader, Julia Rabago.

Safe Place is a national youth outreach and prevention program for young people in need of immediate help and safety. Nearly 20,000 community and business locations nationwide display the Safe Place sign, making help readily available.  Locations include libraries, fire stations, businesses and social service facilities.

Safe Place began in 1983 as an outreach program of the YMCA Shelter House in Louisville, Kentucky. Access to emergency counseling and shelter for youth was identified as a community need and the YMCA of Greater Louisville found a way to address this issue.

This is how Safe Place works: A young person enters a Safe Place location and asks for help. Site employees find a comfortable place for the youth to wait while they call the local Safe Place agency. A Safe Place representative arrives to talk with the youth and, if necessary, provides transportation to the shelter agency. Once at the agency, counselors meet with the youth and provide support. Agency staff makes sure youths and their families receive the help and professional services they need.

Here’s a real life story: A 17-year-old male whose father felt that he was not moving fast enough in the process of securing independent housing was asked to leave his home. After exhausting all of his “couch surfing” options, the young man accessed Safe Place help through the local library. Safe Place responders referred and transported the young man to an emergency housing shelter for further assistance.

The success of the Safe Place program depends upon support from the whole community. If you’d like to help, call us, and we’ll get you in touch with the right person. You may want to designate your business or organization as a Safe Place, too.

If you suspect that there are youths in your life who may be struggling, please tell them about Safe Place and let them know the Chamber office location at 3131 Foothill Blvd., Suite D across from Der Weinerschnitzel. We have a large sign in the window letting them know that they’re in the right place. Students at all the local schools have been told about the program and given a special card to keep in their backpacks with a number to text when in need. Teens should text the word “SAFE” and their current location to the number 69866 for immediate help.  

Together, as a community, we can keep our kids safe and healthy.

  Lisa DUPUY