Safe Places program aims to help young runaways on Hawaii Island, Oahu
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - One in seven youth in Hawaii ages 10 to 18 run away from home due to abuse, neglect, and family conflicts.
A new state program called Safe Places offers children support and a haven when they have nowhere to turn and aims to prevent homelessness and exploitation. It’s part of a national outreach and prevention program for youth in crisis and implemented with a project called Safe Spaces for Youth that was passed by the 2022 state legislature.
Roxanne Costa with the Salvation Army and Connie Bell-Mullen with Hale Kipa joined HNN’s Sunrise to talk about the program and encourage local businesses and organizations to become Safe Place sites.
A Safe Place is a business, church or community center that displays the yellow Safe Place sign that any youth can go to if they are in need of shelter or services. An employee there will sit with them until a counselor from the Hawaii Department of Human Services’ Office of Youth Services can get there and meet with them. A Safe Place staff member can also transport the child to a shelter if necessary. Sites who sign up to be a Safe Place get training.
“The Salvation Army is fortunate that we were a Safe Place site some 20 years ago due to our Executive Director at the time wanting a safe place for youth to go to if they were in need. So it was nice to have it re-started in Hilo. Also last year, the County of Hawaii had all of their Hele On buses become Safe Places for our youth. Besides that, our emergency shelter in Hilo and The Salvation Army Corp are Safe Place sites in Hilo,” Costa said.
If you’re a teen and need immediate help, look for the Safe Place sign on buildings and public transportation vehicles in your community. You can also text the word SAFE and the city/state or zip code to a nationwide, 24-hour service for youth in crisis 4HELP (44357). Within seconds, they will receive a message with the closest Safe Place location. Youth can also call 808-999-SAFE (7233).
Hale Kipa is implementing the Safe Place program on Oahu.
“We are currently in the early stages of development of the program as we are in recruitment of locations to agree to participate by becoming a Safe Place, and by having their staff go through the short training and display the program sign. The success of a Safe Place is highly dependent on the aloha and support for our youth from the community,” said Bell-Mullen.
If your agency or business is interested in becoming a Safe Place site, reach out to The Salvation Army Family Intervention Services in Hilo or Hale Kipa on Oahu, or call 808-999-SAFE (7233).
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