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Project Safe Place provides access to immediate help and supportive resources for young people in crisis through a network of sites sustained by qualified agencies, trained volunteers, and businesses. Businesses, community buildings and buses are designated as Safe Place sites and prominently display a distinctive yellow and black Safe Place logo. Any youth can walk into a Safe Place and let an employee know that they need help. They are quickly connected with a youth serving agency that can provide the help they need.
The program began in Louisville, Kentucky in 1983 as an outreach effort of the YMCA. Success with the initial program prompted expansion throughout the United States. North Texas Youth Connection coordinates the program for Grayson, Fannin, Cooke and Denton counties.
March 12-19, 2006 is designated as “National Safe Place Week”. In an effort to increase public awareness of Project Safe Place, North Texas Youth Connection is sponsoring a Safe Place drawing competition for youth in grades K - 12. Participants are asked to illustrate what “Safe Place” means to them. Drawings may be line drawings or colored, with a maximum size of 8 ½” x 11”.
Prizes will be given to the top three winners of each grade division (i.e., K - 5th, 6th - 8th, & 9th -12th). The entries will be judged on creativity & design. Using the drawings entered, coloring books will be made and issued to each school that has student participants and used as a learning tool when promoting the program to youth in the community.
Required entry forms are available from the North Texas Youth Connection office or website, www.ntxyouthconnection.org/forms/safeplace.pdf. The deadline to submit an entry for the competition is before 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 15th and the winners will be announced during the Safe Place luncheon on Friday, March 24th. Participants are not required to be present to win.
North Texas Youth Connection, formerly Grayson County Juvenile Alternatives, provides temporary, voluntary emergency shelter to homeless, runaway and abused youth ages 10-17, counseling services for youth ages 0-17 and their families, and community outreach programs including Project Safe Place. For more information about the contest or any program, contact the office at (903) 893-4717, or the 24-hour crisis hotline at (800) 568-7776.
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