Teens given a Safe Place

Program gives advice, shelter or just someone to listen, network coordinator says.

By Veronica Rocha Published: Last Updated Wednesday, September 10, 2008 10:22 PM PDT

GLENDALE — Teens seeking shelter or counseling for depression will be able to get assistance in the Glendale Galleria mall and from the police department starting this month.

The Salvation Army’s Safe Place program, an active safety network, has teamed up with the Glendale police to house a Safe Place connection site at the police department and its Glendale Galleria substation, police Sgt. Oscar Rodriguez said.

“Now, kids more and more in the community need access to people who care about them,” he said.

The program, which started in 2002 in the city, was designed to help teens who are struggling with abuse; threatened or bullied; suicidal; addicted to drugs or alcohol; depressed; or who ran away from home.

“Glendale has the only program in [Los Angeles] county,” Safe Place Coordinator Meghan Bowra said.

Since its start, the program has served 126 youths from ages 10 to 17, she said. About two to four teens seek help from the program every month, Bowra said.

Out-of-area teens, who have run away from home, make up most of the programs dramatic cases, she said.

Teens who reside in the city generally seek help for depression after breaking up with a boyfriend or girlfriend, or need someone to talk to, Bowra said.

“All youth feel suicidal at one point,” she said.

The program mostly helps teenage mothers who need shelter, Bowra said

Counselors are available to teens who need advice, guidance or someone to listen to their concerns, she said.

Police officers at the substation are being trained in the program’s procedures, Bowra said. Police volunteered to offer the Galleria substation as its Safe Place site, she said.

Rodriguez discussed with his fellow officers the training they will receive from the program will benefit their policing.

“It’s just another tool in your toolbox to help the community,” he said.

A black and gold aluminum Safe Place sign will be mounted inside the police substation, and decals will be placed on its doors so teens can see it’s a safety site, Bowra said.

The police department also will be equipped with the decals and sign, Rodriguez said.

“The Glendale Police Department is always looking for partnerships in the community to collaborate with,” he said.

Along with the substation being outfitted as a Safe Place site, Glendale Beeline buses, city libraries, Domino’s Pizza and Burger King restaurants, city fire stations, YMCA, YWCA, and Star dealerships already have been designated with site placards.

“It’s free. It’s 24 hours, and it’s here for them [teens],” Bowra said.

Last week, a teen who had come into the city after catching the Beeline bus saw Safe Place placards on the bus and asked the bus driver for help, she said. The bus driver called counselors who arrived within 20 minutes and placed him with shelter, Bowra said.

The teen moved from Pennsylvania to California and looked for jobs, but couldn’t find one, she said.

After friends moved to Pennsylvania, he began sleeping on other friends’ couches, but soon “wore out his welcome,” Bowra said.

He slept in various parks until he got on the Beeline and was placed with a shelter, she said.

Bowra trains the city’s firefighters, and business or office managers how to take care of teens who go to their facility seeking aid.

They are taught to call the Safe Place hotline for counselors or volunteers, who respond to the site, she said.

The counselor will talk to the teens and find out their needs, Bowra said.

She advises people she trains to set up a private and quite safe room, call the hotline and check identification badges of people who are dispatched to help the teen.

She conducts school presentations, advising teens where to go for help.

Bowra also set up a MySpace profile to get information to teens.

Teens seeking help can call Safe Place’s 24 hour hotline at (888) 641-2297.

VERONICA ROCHA covers public safety and the courts. She may be reached at (818) 637-3232 or by e-mail at veronica.rocha@latimes.com.