Will You Help Them on Their Journey to Safety?
Right now, in your community, there are youth who are dealing with bullying, suicidal thoughts, homelessness, abuse, and neglect. These young people need your help accessing safety. These are youth like Amaya, who left home in the midst of a global pandemic because of fights with her father. Or Zander, who was contemplating suicide after the death of his mother. When these youth felt like there was nowhere else to turn, Safe Place® and TXT 4 HELP were able to connect them with resources and provide access to safety.
The Journey to Safety campaign seeks to increase support of Safe Place® so young people like Amaya and Zander know that there is somewhere to turn when they are experiencing bullying, suicidal thoughts, homelessness, abuse, and neglect. The Safe Place sign is the universal symbol of safety. All youth in crisis can access help when going to a Safe Place or utilizing TXT 4 HELP. National Safe Place Network (NSPN) will be sharing the stories of various youth on their own journeys to safety throughout the year on our Facebook and Twitter pages. You can read more about the Journey to Safety campaign here, and give to support young people’s access to safety here.
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Anti-Racist Resources
Dorlee Michaeli, MBA, LCSW, has pulled together a list of anti-racist resources for clinical and social workers. Everyone, no matter their profession, can take something away from this list, and it includes audio, visual, and textual pieces based on which way is best for you to learn. These resources are categorized to include:
- Free Anti-Racist Webinars
- Anti-Racism Webinars On-Demand
- Resources for People of Color (POC)
- How to Talk to Our Kids About Racism
- Anti-Racism Resources, Guides, Toolkits
- Anti-Racist Videos/Movies/TV Shows/Podcasts
As Dr. Angela Davis says, “In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist. We must be anti-racist.” This resource list, and many others cropping up around the internet, are good places to start in ensuring you are actively anti-racist in your work and your life.
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Safe Place® Supports LGBTQ+ Youth
Have you seen this symbol at the bottom of the Safe Place website? Did you know Safe Place provides an outlet to safety for all young people in crisis. Safe Place communities are full of accepting, compassionate, and supportive providers who care about the safety and success of young people. LGBTQ youth face increased adversity. Many tend to think of families and schools as the safest places for youth. Sadly, for LGBTQ youth this is often not the case. Due to their gender identity or sexual orientation, they face increased amounts of family rejection, abuse, and bullying. This causes LGBTQ youth to be at greater risk for homelessness, sexual abuse, depression, and suicide. Safe Place has provided resources available for youth, families, and providers on its website. You may access these resources here, or anytime by clicking on this symbol in the footer of the Safe Place website.
If you are a young person in need of immediate help and safety, no matter your race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or any other way you identify yourself, you may go to any location with this sign to receive help or utilize TXT 4 HELP 24/7/365.
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Celebrating Pride Virtually
This June’s Pride will look different than in prior years. Due to the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), organizers have had to rethink how to celebrate Pride when large festivals and parades are no longer an option. Many Pride celebrations are now taking place virtually. Check out this list of virtual Pride events happening around the world. Happy Pride!
 (image courtesy of the Human Rights Campaign)
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Lost in America Digital Release
The Lost in America documentary will be available for digital download June 9th. The documentary, directed by Rotimi Rainwater, captures the realities of youth homelessness. Lost in America also interviews celebrities who champion homeless youth, politicians, and organizations (including National Safe Place Network) who serve homeless youth about what is being done and what needs to be done in order to put an end to youth homelessness. You can watch the trailer here as well as audience reactions to the film here.
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