Every day, more than 3,500 kids will leave home due to a variety of reasons, including abuse, neglect, family conflict, homelessness, and more.  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.

Safe Place creates a network of Safe Place locations — schools, fire stations, libraries, grocery and convenience stores, public transit, YMCAs and other appropriate public buildings – that display the yellow and black diamond-shaped Safe Place sign. These locations extend the doors of the youth service agency or emergency shelter throughout the community. Youth can easily access immediate help wherever they are.

Since 1991, QuikTrip has been a designated Safe Place, where runaways and at-risk youth can come in off the street, receive food and drink, and wait for a volunteer from a Safe Place agency partner to connect them with professional help or a place to stay until their situation is resolved.  Another location near N 32 neighborhood is Mesquite Library at Paradise Valley Mall in Phoenix.  Teens can look for the bright yellow sign and wait there until a Safe Place worker can assist them.

Should a youth need assistance, they can depend on any location with the Safe Place sign. The following steps describe how Safe Place is intended to work:

Step One – The youth arrives at a designated Safe Place location (identified by a Safe Place sign or decal) and tells the first available employee that they need help.

Step Two – The employee finds a quiet, comfortable place for the youth to wait while they call the local Safe Place agency.

Step Three – The Safe Place agency calls the location back to identify a trained representative who will come to meet the young person at the location.

Step Four – Within 20-30 minutes or less, the Safe Place volunteer or staff member will arrive to talk with the youth and transport them to the agency, if necessary, for counseling, support, a place to stay or other resources.

Step Five – Once at the Safe Place agency, counselors meet with the youth and provide support, resources and help. Family members or guardians are called to let them know that their child is safe. Agency staff make sure the youth and their families receive the help and professional referrals they need.

 

For more information about Safe Place or how you can help visit  nationalsafeplace.org.

myfoxcarolinas.com

Mountain parks in the City of Phoenix are a popular draw for thousands each year.  But soon people may have to pay up if they want to hike mountains managed by the City of Phoenix.

As you may have heard by now, there are new hours for parking meters in downtown Phoenix; those hours are 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., weekends as well. But now the city wants to install parking meters at Phoenix mountain parks.

It’s not a done deal by any means, but there is a proposal to install parking meters at Piestewa Peak (Phoenix Mountains Park), Camelback (Echo Canyon area), and South Mountains (Pima Canyon).

The proposal is not too popular among those who hike the mountains.

Stunning views and challenging hikes are some of the reasons that thousands enjoy Echo Canyon, Piestewa Peak, and South Mountain. The million dollar question is whether people will pay for the experience.

“It’s debatable, it’s so scenic, it’s a city park, it should be free,” said a hiker.

“The fact it is free and people bring families, friends, and not have to worry about a gym membership and all that,” said another hiker.

The City of Phoenix is considering whether to place parking meters at three popular mountain parks. The range would likely be from $1.50 to $4.00 an hour depending on the time of day.

“I’m pretty sure it’s going to run people away, especially on the busy days which are the weekends when you don’t even have parking,” said another hiker.

“Cause I’m already driving 45 minutes to get here, I understand if I lived down the street, or nothing for me, no I’ll just run on the treadmill or go to a park,” said a hiker.

Tim Sierakowski sent out these flyers encouraging people to come to the city’s open house on the matter.

“I think they’re trying to curtail people from coming to the parks, and this is wrong, they have enough money,” said Sierakowski.

The city says the plan is for crowd control and as a way to generate revenue.

Hikers agree it can get congested on the mountain.

“Sometimes it’s so crowded you can’t get up the mountain. Meters might be a good thing; you’ll never know,” said Thomas Moran.

The City of Phoenix held an open house Wednesday at the Devenshire Senior Center to give information about trailhead parking meters and get feedback.

Here is what transpired at the meeting.  City of Phoenix Parks and Rec Dept Deputy director Ken Vonderscher fielded questions.

• Ken said the main reason for the parking meters would be to raise revenue and manage the crowds, but he had no numbers about how much revenue they expect to raise.
• City Of Phoenix hired a consultant to do a study on the use and degradation of the trails, but he had no numbers on how much the city is paying this consultant.
• Whether meters are installed, and how much should be charged is determined by a volunteer board, whose names and contact info he is restricted from giving.

To have your voice be heard attend the next meeting Thursday August 28 at 5pm at 200 W Jefferson, Phoenix AZ 85007.

Ken can be reached at ken.vonderscher@phoenix.gov, 602-261-8318, or visit the parks website at www.Phoenixparks.gov/parks.