Street Outreach & Safe Place
Operation SafeHouse has been providing the Street Outreach program to entrenched street youth ages 11-24 since 1997. Our team is in the community six days a week at locations where runaway and homeless youth are known to congregate. They are given referrals, hygiene products, snacks, water and transportation to our shelters or transitional living programs if they would like to move from the streets into a safe and stable environment. Youth can also access our program through our Safe Place partner sites, including 74 Sun Line bus routes that provide “mobile” Safe Place transportation to their hubs or our shelter from anywhere in the Coachella Valley.
Contact Information for SafeHouse of the Desert Outreach
Phone: 951-515-8914
Email:desertoutreach@
Safe Place Program
Our Safe Place program is how we reach out to teens and their families who may not know we’re here for them. Project Safe Place is a national program found in communities all across the United States. It partners local businesses and places like fire departments and police stations with the local youth shelter.
In the Coachella Valley, there are 121 Safe Place locations including participating McDonalds, Boys & Girls Clubs, Fire stations, Libraries, Police stations and Sunline buses. Any child in crisis or who needs help can access our shelter by going into any location displaying the Safe Place sign. Safe Place allows SafeHouse to have “virtual doors” throughout the community so that children can access our services no matter where they are.
Each year, we make presentations to over 30,000 7th-12th grade students by visiting their classrooms and talking about the Safe Place program and where to go if they need help. We show them what the sign looks like and what to do if they ever find themselves facing a situation they don’t know how to deal with.
We’re actively involved in making presentations to the community about who we are and what we do. We attend health fairs and staff meetings and make presentations to service clubs like the local Rotary, Optimist and Lion’s Clubs. We’re busy making sure that the community knows about us and that families in crisis know where to turn when they need our help.
If you would like to know more about our program, please contact Birgit Phillips at bphillips@operationsafehouse.org
Safe Place Sites
Are you 11-17 years old and need to get to a safe place? Please visit one of the Safe Place sites listed below and let them know you need to get to a safe place. They will contact SafeHouse to help you and give you a ride to our shelter in Thousand Palms.
For more information on the National Safe Place Program, please visit their website.
National Safe Place link
