SafePlace...Right Where You Need Us, When You Need Us In The Desert!

Safe Place is a national youth outreach program that educates thousands of young people every year about the dangers of running away or trying to resolve difficult, threatening situations on their own. This easily replicated community initiative involves the whole community to provide safe havens and resources for youth in crisis.
Safe Place creates a network of "Safe Place locations" - youth friendly businesses, schools, fire stations, libraries,  YMCAs and other appropriate public buildings  that display the distinctive yellow and black Safe Place sign. In many communities the local transit system takes part, designating buses as mobile Safe Place sites.

These Safe Place sites extend the doors of the youth emergency shelter or youth service agency throughout the community. Youth are easily able to access immediate help wherever they are.

In 2008, Project Safe Place joined with Sunline Transit Agency to provide 54 mobile Safe Place sites which cover much of the Coachella Valley in Eastern Riverside County.

A strategically placed black and yellow sign identifies Safe Place sites. A child can access the business and seek assistance. Employees of Safe Place sites are instructed to contact the shelter staff (Operation SafeHouse) for intervention, assistance, and services. Safe Place provides a valuable resource to the community by making available safe and secure places for youth who are in trouble. A unique feature of the program is that it is a collaborative effort between public and private sectors coming together for one special goal – keeping children safe.