LSF Celebrates March 16-22

as National Safe Place Week
 

12 March 2008

Lutheran Services Florida's Southwest, Southeast and Northwest Regions will join more than 1,100 communities nationwide to celebrate its commitment to keeping youth safe March 16-22 during “National Safe Place Week.”

Safe Place provides access to immediate help and safety for all young people in crisis.  More than 105,000 youth nationally have received help through a business or community location displaying the Safe Place sign since the program’s inception 25 years ago in Louisville, Ky.  Now, 144 youth-serving agencies in 41 states manage Safe Place programs in their local communities.

Lutheran Services Florida has operated the Safe Place program in the Fort Myers/Southwest Region since 1994.  More than 267 businesses and community locations participate in that region -- including McDonald’s, Yellow and Blue Bird Cab Companies, LeeTran, Libraries, Fire Stations -- and serve as Safe Place sites where a young person can be connected to emergency services and shelter.  In the Ft. Myers region alone, 216 youth walked into a Safe Place to receive support in 2007.

"The hundreds of community partners and businesses that make our Safe Place program possible play an indispensable role in keeping our children safe," said Mary Ellen Saba, LSF Non-Residential Services Program Manager for the Southwest Region.  "Each Safe Place sign represents another front door for youth to access the support and guidance we provide."

Collectively, Safe Place programs across the country are seeking to educate 2.5 million young people in 2008 about the dangers of running away and that Safe Place is an outlet for help in their own neighborhoods.  Between 1.3 million and 2.8 million youth are homeless or experience a runaway situation each year.  The more than 16,000 Safe Place sites, easily recognized by the yellow and black diamond-shaped logo, give youth in crisis a place to turn for help.

The U.S. Senate has designated the third week of March as “National Safe Place Week” each year since 2001.

National Safe Place, founded in 1983 in Louisville, Ky and headquartered there, provides training and technical assistance for youth service agencies and businesses interested in developing a Safe Place program.  For additional information, visit www.nationalsafeplace.org.

Lutheran Services Florida southwest region serves children, teens and families each year with residential and non-residential programs, shelter, outreach, substance abuse counseling, educational and other counseling programs.
 

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