New Grantees Welcomed
Safe & Sound welcomed its 2012 Safe Place grantees at a meeting on last Friday, Dec. 16. Expecting around 30 for the meeting to discuss requirements for the new program year, more than 40 Safe Place staff attended.
There will be 21 Safe Places in 2012. Eleven are S.A.F.E. sites that focus primarily on delivering structured programming meant to have an impact on youth knowledge, skills, attitudes or behaviors. The remaining ten are referred to as Youth Together Drop-In Centers. These operate more like the traditional after-school program by offering youth a diverse set of activities ranging from recreation and sports to computer labs and nutrition classes.
Barbara Notestein, Executive Director, greeted the participants and introduced the Safe & Sound staff. She also gave a brief overview of the mission of Safe & Sound, and introduced Mark Mathy, HIDTA Assistant Director. In addition to explaining the role of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, Mathy stressed the importance of prevention. Prevention, he said, is the cornerstone of President Barack Obama’s Office of National Drug Control Policy, which funds HIDTA. He praised the youth workers for the role they play in re-directing the troubled lives of young people by giving them the tools they will need to become healthy and productive adults.
A highlight of the meeting was presentations by several Safe Places about the real work of youth leaders who are working to raise awareness about crime and violence, and how it is affecting their lives and that of their peers. During 2011, core leaders of the Crime Strategy Initiative have developed video productions assailing the dangers of drugs, created life-size silhouettes of themselves promoting what’s positive about their neighborhoods, and published a magazine about issues within the Hmong culture. One Safe Place site unveiled posters that will be placed in other Safe Place locations to encourage youth to resist peer pressure and stay strong.
New this year for some Safe Places is Safe & Sound’s Circles of Accountability initiative aimed at providing a restorative justice experience for first time juvenile burglary offenders. A trained group of youth leaders from the Safe Places will participate in circles to help the juvenile offenders take responsibility for their actions, make better life choices and repair the harm they have caused.
