Safe Place now close to being a real place
Recent donations and grants have given a group working on establishing Safe Place sites in Harrison County the boost it needs to have at least one year’s budget in the bank.
The Safe Place Support Council was awarded a $5,000 grant in November from Metro United Way, a $2,500 grant from the Community Foundation of Southern Indiana, $250 from Radio Shack’s Street Sentz Community Grant, a $1,000 donation from the Corydon Rotary Club, plus contributions from other township trustees. That brought the total collected through fund-raising and grant writing to about $34,000.
Kenny Bartley, support council chair, said interviews are now being conducted for a paid director for the Safe Place project.
Lisa Worden of Blue River Services Inc. is handling the interviews. She said a director could be hired by the middle of December.
Also, the Safe Place sites should be selected soon.
‘They will be located throughout the county, not just in Corydon,’ Bartley said.
Once Safe Place locations are selected, site employees will be trained and educational information will be distributed to school students.
Volunteers will train to assist in providing immediate aid to youth who are in trouble and seek help at a Safe Place.
The National Safe Place was established in 1983 by the YMCA Shelter House in Louisville and now has sites in 40 other states.
Designated by a yellow and black emblem of an adult hugging a child, the sites provide access to immediate help and supportive resources for all young people in crisis through a network of sites sustained by qualified agencies, trained volunteers and businesses.
About 80,000 youth, between the ages of 12 and 17, have received assistance at Safe Place.
Indiana has 10 sites in its 92 counties, with the closest being McDonald’s just off Interstate 64 at the Georgetown exit.
Typical Safe Place sites are restaurants, hospitals, YMCAs, schools, fire stations, libraries and other businesses.
The Safe Place Support Council, which consists mostly of members of the 2005 Leadership Harrison County class, welcomes new members. The next meeting will be Tuesday, Dec. 20, at 6:30 p.m. at the Harrison County Lifelong Learning center, in the 101 Building west of downtown Corydon.
