FORT MYERS – In honor of April as National Child Abuse Prevention Month, Lutheran Services Florida encourages all individuals and organizations to play a role in making our communities better and safer places for children, youth and families, not just in April, but throughout the year. By ensuring that adults have the knowledge, skills and resources they need to care for their children, we can prevent child abuse and strengthen families and communities.

Communities across the country search for ways to keep youth safe and many have established Safe Place as a community collaboration making help readily available. Safe Place designates businesses, community buildings and mobile units as Safe Place sites that prominently display the Safe Place logo. Any youth in crisis can walk in and a trained representative will come to meet with them and together they will begin to determine what kind of help is needed. Safe Place connects children and their families with the supportive resources they need.

LSF’s Southwest Region and its Oasis Youth Shelter in Fort Myers serve as a designated Safe Place for youth in need in Collier, Lee, Charlotte, Hendry and Glades counties. LSF is a designated Safe Place provider in all areas with LSF youth shelters, including Fort Myers, Crestview, Oakland Park and Pensacola.

Nationally there have been 7,084 young people who have utilized Project Safe Place to access immediate help and safety since January 1, 2010. Of those, 487 reported some form of abuse or neglect including emotional, physical, sexual and substance abuse; 291 of these youth reported being physically abused. In that same time period 1,235 young people ran away and abuse may have been a contributing factor. Once on the streets, these youth become at risk and may become the victims of or the perpetrators of criminal activity. Safe Place is available for any youth who is abused, neglected, threatened, lost or in an unsafe situation.

In LSF’s Southwest Region community more than 450 businesses display the Safe Place sign and employees are trained and prepared to assist any youth needing help. Over 800 youth have gone to a local Safe Place site to ask for help. Each year, LSF Southwest and the Oasis Youth Shelter provide shelter, food, clothing, individual/group/family counseling, tutoring and transportation to more than 600 youth.

This national initiative operates in 40 states that serve over 1,528 communities. Safe Place has helped more than 265,000 young people who have gone to a Safe Place site and asked for help or contacted the agency after they learned about the program at school.

For more information about Safe Place in LSF’s Southwest Region, contact Brandon Glover at 239-278-1140 or bglover@lsfnet.org.