Safe Place in place

If children feel in danger, and their parents or a responsible adult aren’t available, where can they go, whom can they talk to, whom can they trust?

Now dozens of Spokane Valley fire stations, public libraries and retail stores have volunteered to be Safe Place sites in a regionwide effort to help scared kids.

Safe Place, a multiagency outreach program of Volunteers of America, provides immediate help and supportive resources for youth in crisis.

“Unfortunately, despite all of our best efforts, sometimes our kids find themselves in very frightening situations,” said Marilee Roloff, president of Volunteers of America in Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho.

“Volunteers of America envisions the time when kids can walk into a Safe Place site in their own neighborhood and the adults there will call the Safe Place hotline and help will arrive,” she said during a news conference on Monday announcing the launch of the Safe Place program in Spokane Valley.

Spokane and Coeur d’Alene have similar programs.

AmericanWest Bank was the first Spokane Valley business to volunteer and display the distinctive yellow-and-black diamond-shaped Safe Place sign.

“We are very proud to have joined with Volunteers of America last April to roll out this program in Spokane,” said Robert Daugherty, the bank’s CEO and president.

“We have been in the program now for six months and are proud to say we have all of our eight offices trained in the Spokane-Spokane Valley area,” he said.

In addition to AmericanWest Bank, Safe Place is collaborating with Spokane Valley police and fire departments, Spokane County Sheriff’s Office and the Greater Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce.

“The more business we can get involved, the better,” said Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich.

“A lot of kids go to the mall on their bicycle, and there is the potential they may need help,” he said. “If they see the sign in a window, they will know where to go.”

Spokane Valley Police Chief Rick Van Leuven also supports the program.

“It is a way for children to recognize that there is a place to go when they are in need,” he said. “They don’t have to figure out who to call.”

Spokane Valley Fire Chief Mike Thompson said the district’s 10 stations are signed on as safe sites.

“Our fire stations are out in the neighborhoods and people know where they are,” Thompson said. “They are staffed 24-hours a day, seven days a week, so typically someone is always there.”

If the fire crew happens to be out on a call, there will be an arrow posted by the Safe Place sign that points to a telephone that “is directly connected with dispatch,” Thompson said.

“If someone was to come up and no one was there,” the fire chief said, “we would be able to get someone over there pretty quick.”

Eldonna Shaw, president of the Greater Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce, endorsed the Safe Place program as a way for businesses to give back to the community.

“We believe in the safety and importance of our children,” Shaw said. “They are our future leaders, and we want to make sure that we grow a strong community.”

Spokane Valley Mayor Diana Wilhite reinforced communitywide participation.

“It is important that businesses in Spokane Valley step up to the plate and be a haven for kids when they feel someone is following them or threatened in any way,” she said.

One retail outlet to volunteer as a Safe Place is Gymboree Play and Music, a learning place for parents and their young children, on Sprague Avenue and Evergreen Road.

“Being that we are a program for children and have a staff that is familiar and comfortable around children,” said Gymboree owner Natalie Schlatter, “it just made sense that we would be a safe place to come to if a child was lost or scared or hurt.”