BEGINNINGS:
SAFE officially launched in January of 2011 by opening a drop-in center for homeless youth called 'the Safe Spot' in the heart of Montrose in Houston, TX, with guest of honor Mayor Annise Parker attending and speaking at the event.
In less than eight months we served well over 400 homeless youth, averaging 50-60 youth per day, serving meals twice daily while offering life skill workshops throughout the afternoon. The community stepped in and donated their time, money, food items, equipment, clothing and many other items. Some offered to mentor youth, give workshops and most importantly everyone helped spread the word.
Eight months later, in August of 2011, we were informed that the property we were leasing had been sold and that we would need to relocate.
When reviewing our data we determined that over two-thirds of our clients attributed being homeless to aging out of foster care.
We began asking ourselves the following questions. Where do you go when you turn 18 and have no family? Where do you live? Is there anyone to mentor and help guide you? Even if you take advantage of state benefits helping you to go to college, where do you go on holidays, over the summer, or on school breaks?
Perhaps SAFE could reach these youth PRIOR to becoming homeless, offering programs to help these youth transition to independent living during the aging out process.
PRESENT:
SAFE continued to be an online resource and in 2014 the founder, Jason Warner, purchased a ranch in Franklin, TN naming it GratiDude Ranch.
Early 2016 SAFE reintroduced itself as a 501c3 organization to Middle Tennessee by offering an Easter Egg Hot Air Balloon Drop. The event was open to the community with proceeds benefiting SAFE, launching its new services and programming offering support to foster youth, foster families and foster agencies in Middle Tennessee. SAFE has continued to operate on the ranch offering its programming and services.
A party barn on the ranch is available to the public to book Country Birthday Bash events including a petting zoo and pony rides (www.countrybirthdaybash.com). Through the Foster Birthday Bash program, SAFE offers foster parents the same service FREE, including food, beverage and of course, cake or cupcakes! Our hope is that this creates a memory for a foster child that will be cherished forever while also giving back to the foster parents who give so much.
A SAFE Camp Program was launched the summer of 2017 by SAFE’s partnership with Monroe Harding, a local foster agency, hosting a camp/retreat for those youth preparing to age of our DCS custody and those currently in EFC (Extension of Foster Care). SAFE Camps focus on aging out of care, the benefits available to youth when aging out choosing to remain in EFC, housing and independent living skills, life skills, career exploration and assessments, etc. SAFE has since partnered with several additional agencies along with DCS who provide the training and curriculum while SAFE sponsors the facility, food, lodging and support.
Through SAFE’s Gift Card Drive, $6000 was raised allowing SAFE to purchase sixty $100 gift cards. A gift card was given to every teen currently in foster care in Williamson County to help them with 'going back to school' expenses.
Throughout the year other Special Events are offered and open to the local community helping to raise awareness and funds for SAFE. The funds are often used to gather necessity items to provide in bags for children as they enter custody such as hair brushes, tooth brushes and tooth paste, pillow cases, blankets, stuffed animals, and the list goes on.
Through Community Service Building, SAFE offers service hours to students and other youth in DCS care who may require hours for school or other requirements.
In 2019 SAFE took on its largest endeavor, leasing a house for foster teens and launching the SAFE HOUSE Program. A foster mother was established for the SAFE HOUSE and in the summer of 2020, through its partnership with Monroe Harding, the SAFE HOUSE was open for placement. After two placements, due to COVID and the complications it caused on many fronts, the program was halted and postponed for one-year. In September of 2021, the Board of Directors unanimously determined that it was in SAFE’s best interest to terminate it’s lease on the house and forego the SAFE HOUSE program endeavor indefinitely, focusing on its current programming and expanding its SAFE Camp program. In 2022 the Teen Pregnancy Program was introduced and these programs remain SAFE’s focus and mission.
In January of 2022 SAFE welcomed Angela Saunders as its new Executive Director. Angela can be reached at safeexecutivedirector@gmail.com. The members of the Board of Directors can be found on our leadership page in the main menu of this site.
FUTURE:
SAFE's long-term vision is to expand our SAFE Camp program, offering support to foster teens, foster families and foster agencies. These camps will provide an opportunity to begin the difficult conversation of ‘aging out’ of foster care to teens beginning at the age of 14, continuing to the age of 17, educating youth on the benefits available if they choose to remain in Extended Foster Care (EFC). Our camps will also focus on life skills, assisting foster youth in their maturing and growing needs to become independent regardless of what path they choose to take as they near 18 years of age.
Although we’ve been offering SAFE Camps as part of our programming, we hope to expand our camp program to offering not only day camps throughout the year, but hosting weekend and week-long overnight camps, having more time to go deep, establish relationships and offer youth a retreat experience, connecting to nature, one another and most of all, themselves.
