Frank Johnson/Gazette

CiCi’s Pizza on St. James Avenue in Goose Creek is one of two “Safe Place” businesses in Berkeley County.

Dorchester County businesses needed as temporary havens for runaways -

Imagine being a teenager out on the streets, afraid, confused, nowhere to turn.

No job, no money, and little education.

Worse, if you’re under 17 years old and run away from home in South Carolina, you have just committed a crime.

Fortunately, there is help. And the Carolina Youth Development wants the community know about it. It’s called Project Safe Place.

Jennifer Brown is the outreach program coordinator for Beacon Runaway Shelter and Project Safe Place, both of which are affiliated with the Carolina Youth Development Center in North Charleston.

The way it works is fairly simple, she said.

All a youth has to do is either call the center, or if he or she has no access to a telephone, go to any business that has the Project Safe Place logo, tell a staff member at that business, and they will call.

In less than an hour of the business making that call, someone with the center will come pick up the child.

“Within 45 minutes, the manager of that partner business will either have the name of the volunteer coming to pick up that child or will be unlocking the door for that volunteer,” Brown said.

Project Safe Place feeds youth into the Carolina Child Development Center’s runaway homeless shelter, The Beacon, which is the only shelter in the tri-county community that serves youth 18 and under, she said.

Once the young person is safely there, staff will start the intake process for that child to come into the shelter and assess the situation.

By law, the shelter has to inform the parents of the whereabouts of the child after 48 hours, but staff has the discretion to decide whether to involve law enforcement or the Department of Social Services, Brown said.

Thus far the center has not had to do that because the 48-hour window generally serves as a cooling-off period for both parent and child, she said.

“More than 60 percent of the children we (take in) are discharged into a family unity program,” Brown said. “A safety plan is in place and community linkage is in place.”

In other words, the family together will seek counseling and other options to help them sort out their issues and move forward with their lives, she said.

“We will suggest alternatives, but we want the ownership of seeking counseling to be on the family,” Brown said.

Community linkage services may include education and counseling services, job training and GED assistance.

“We want them to understand that there are options, that their dreams don’t necessarily have to be unfulfilled,” Brown said.

Right now, the program is looking for more businesses to join the initiative. In fact, Brown recently spoke to the spoke at the Rotary Club of Summerville about the need for more “Safe Place” businesses in the community, especially in Dorchester County.

“Although the majority of Beacon Shelter’s referrals come from Dorchester County, there are currently no Safe Places in Dorchester County and only two in Berkeley County,” Brown said. “What that means is that a youth has to get arrested in Dorchester County before they can receive our services.”

If the youth has a safe place from which to call, they can avoid having to go through that experience, which is often frightening and can carry a stigma, she said.

“A Safe Place business signs a one-year agreement with the Shelter to wait with the teenager who is seeking shelter,” Brown said. “There is a $25 fee to pay for the cost of the window decal that lets teens know they can seek haven at your business. “

Beacon Shelter, located at the Carolina Youth Development Center in North Charleston, has four beds available for teens on a temporary basis for 21 days maximum.

When Brown came on board in June 2007, Project Safe Place had only one safe place site; it currently has 35. Brown said her goal is to have 50 by July 2010.

In Berkeley County, there are two safe places, CiCi’s Pizza on St. James Avenue in Goose Creek and IGA grocery store in St. Stephen.

For more information call Jennifer Brown at (843) 266-5246 or email her at JBrown@cydc.org.

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