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For Immediate Release:
March 19, 2004

Encouraging more Safe Places

by Senator Larry Craig

In our daily lives we see many stores and businesses that display logos symbolizing certain qualities of the products offered inside. We see these symbols and acknowledge their larger meaning.

In the lives of children across the country, the yellow and black diamond-shaped signs found hanging in the windows of local businesses symbolize safety, help and hope � all the elements of Project Safe Place.

For the fifth consecutive year I was proud to support this organization by sponsoring a Senate resolution with Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) to designate the week of March 15-19 as National Safe Place Week. The goal of this week is to raise awareness of the program's success and recognize individuals who contribute their time and effort to the success of Project Safe Place.

In participating communities, designated businesses place the yellow and black diamond-shaped logo in their windows. Young people in crisis or in need of help recognize the Safe Place symbol and know they will be welcomed in and immediately provided with assistance. The business not only acts as an immediate safe haven for those seeking help, but also serves as a link to trained professionals who provide counseling for young people to discuss and address problems. This comprehensive program is made possible by groups of dedicated people working together within their communities and across the nation to create a recognizable symbol so young people know where they can turn to find help.

The well-being of our children has always been a number one priority in Idaho communities. Project Safe Place is proof of that commitment, providing youth a safe and secure place to turn to in a crisis. In our own Idaho communities, Project Safe Place has made a tremendous difference in children's lives by assisting with problems and providing alternative resources for dealing with family issues.

For example, in Pocatello the necessity for a program like Project Safe Place became apparent in 1993. The abduction and murder of Jeralee Underwood, an eleven-year-old girl on her paper route, triggered the need for some sort of community action. Thus, Idaho's first Safe Place site was established in Pocatello in March of 1994. Since the initial starting date, many Pocatello businesses and organizations have become involved in this program, helping an average of two children a week. Most businesses are located in key locations and are open late into the night.

Project Safe Place began in 1983 at a YMCA Shelter House in Louisville, Kentucky and has since grown to a crisis network that reaches 771 communities in forty-one states. There are now nearly 12,220 Safe Place sites across the country, including over two hundred in the Pocatello area alone. Safe Place provides our Idaho communities and businesses with the outreach opportunity to collaborate on social service projects.

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Falls and Twin Falls are the other Idaho communities providing this service to young people. Additionally, several of my state offices serve as Safe Place establishments for Idaho youth. I encourage more Idaho communities to involve themselves in Project Safe Place and become a part of the network that provides trustworthy adults for adolescents to turn to.

Senator Craig's offices in participating "Safe Place" communities are:

If you would like to learn more about Project Safe Place and how to become involved, I encourage you to visit their website at www.safeplaceservices.org.

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