"Where kids get help...FAST"

 

Project Safe Place is a national crisis prevention program for children and teens. Youth In Need is the regional provider of Safe Place services for the eastern Missouri region. If a young person needs help for any reason, he or she can go to any business displaying the yellow and black Safe Place sign. Sites include all QuikTrips, YMCAs, St. Charles City-County Libraries and most Fire Departments. All sites are trained to call the Youth In Need 24-Hour Help Line, and a Safe Place case worker will immediately be sent to pick up the child or teen, assess the situation, and provide assistance. Project Safe Place is a great way for the children and teens in our area to get immediate help when necessary, and an opportunity for them to take the initiative when a situation has become dangerous.

 

Why would a young person need Safe Place help? If he or she is: A runaway, lost, in danger, being abused, locked out of the house, kidnapped, having trouble at home or school, avoiding a bully, on an unsafe date or in the car with an unsafe or drunk driver.

 

Eligibility, Enrollment and Cost The program is free for any child or teen who needs help.

 

Contact To use the program, all a child or teen needs to do is enter a business displaying the Safe Place sign and tell an employee that he or she needs Safe Place help. View a list of Safe Place sites in the community.

 

How Safe Place Works:

• A child or teen in crisis enters a designated Safe Place location (identified by a yellow and black, Safe Place sign or decal) and tells the first available employee that he or she needs Safe Place help.
• The employee will find a quiet, comfortable place for the youth to wait while he or she calls Youth in Need, the local Safe Place contact.
• Youth in Need will call the location back to identify the staff member or volunteer who will come to meet the young person at the location.
• Within 20-30 minutes, Youth In Need will assess the situation and provide transportation to Youth in Need for counseling, support, a place to stay or other resources.
• Once at Youth in Need, counselors meet with the young person and provide support, resources, and help. They make sure the youth and his or her family receives help and professional referrals, as needed. (Family members or guardians are called to let them know that the child or teen is safe.)