Project Safe Place is a national crisis prevention program for children and teens, provided in eastern Missouri by Youth in Need. If a young person needs help for any reason, they can go to any business displaying the yellow and black Safe Place sign, including any CCFR fire station, all QuikTrips, YMCAs, St. Charles City-County Libraries, and most fire departments.
All sites are trained to call the Youth In Need 24-Hour helpline. A Safe Place case worker is immediately sent to pick up the child or teen, assess the situation, and provide assistance.
Project Safe Place is a great way for the children and teens in our area to get immediate help when necessary, and an opportunity for them to take the initiative when a situation has become dangerous.
Why would a young person need Safe Place help?
If they are:
- A runaway
- Lost
- In danger
- Being abused
- Locked out of the house
- Kidnapped
- Having trouble at home or school
- Avoiding a bully, on an unsafe date,
- Or, in the car with an unsafe or drunk driver
What is the cost of the program?
The program is free for any child or teen who needs help.
How would a young person use Safe Place?
Visit
To use the program, all a child or teen needs to do is enter a business displaying the Safe Place sign and tell an employee that they need Safe Place help. View a list of Safe Place sites in our community.
Text
Text the word SAFE and their current location (address, city, state) to 4HELP (44357) for immediate help.
Call
Crisis Hot Lines
- St. Charles County 636.642.0642
- St. Louis County 314.628.2929
- St. Louis City 314.485.4635
How Safe Place Works:
- A child or teen in crisis enters a designated Safe Place location (identified by a yellow and black, Safe Place sign or decal) and tells the first available employee that he or she needs Safe Place help.
- The employee will find a quiet, comfortable place for the youth to wait while they call Youth in Need.
- A Youth in Need worker will arrive in 20-30 minutes to assess the situation and respond accordingly.
- If necessary, the worker provides transportation to Youth in Need for counseling, support, a place to stay, or other resources; the worker also calls family members or guardians to let them know the child or teen is safe.
- At Youth in Need, counselors meet with the young person and provide support, resources, and help. They make sure the young person and his or her family receive help and professional referrals, as needed.