Safe Child Town Hall
As part of our observance of National Missing Children's Day, and our Safe Child project, we're organizing a series of Town Hall meetings across Washington State.
Safe Child Town Halls will address issues that affect community and child safety in each of the scheduled towns and districts. Speakers will go over prevention, local problems, and what is being done to correct those problems.
The Town Halls are organized by legislative district [LD]. This is so legislators can learn the priorities of the community, and help educate their constituents about what is being done to address each community's needs.
Below is a list of legislative districts that have signed on so far, and an approximate date for their town hall. If you would like to receive updates on the town hall in your district, please contact us.
Tentative schedule:
August
- August 20, Tacoma,
LD 27 - DONE! Yay!
Participants - Senator Regala, Sexual Assault Center of Pierce Co, Tacoma PD, Safe St., and the Legislative Youth Advisory Counsel [LYAC].
September
- September 18, Bellevue,
LD 48,
Participants - Representatives Hunter and Eddy, Bellevue PD, Bellevue Parks, King County Sexual Assault Resource Center, and LYAC.
Highland Middle School, 7-830pm, Children Welcome!
- September 25, Chehalis, LD 20, Senator Swecker
October
- October 2, Bothell, LD 1, Senator McAuliffe
- October 7, Richland, LD 8, Senator Delvin
- October 23, Sedro Woolley, LD 39, Senator Stevens
November
- November 6, Spokane, LD 6, Senator Marr
Reports:
Tacoma Safe Child Town Hall:
The Tacoma Safe Child Town Hall was a great evening for the Tacoma community. Representatives from 11 community, county, and state organizations came together in the beautiful Lincoln High School Auditorium, to talk about community and child safety, and to answer questions from the audience. Information was formatted to help people make good decisions about real vs. perceived risks, and to understand the process should they need to report a crime committed against a child.
The Tacoma Safe Child Town Hall was a collaborative effort between Safe Streets and Washington Communities Against Predators (Wash-CAP), and was the first in a series of Safe Child Town Halls designed to empower and educate community members and care-givers to make decisions from a position of knowledge and awareness.
The Safe Child Project is a multi-faceted effort lead by Wash-CAP and with participation from local organizations across Washington State, such as Safe Streets. It includes articulation of the rights of the child, security education as part of mainstream parenting and security training for children from 2-18.
This Project was inspired by the regular and inspirational prevention effort made across the country each May 25, on National Missing Children’s Day. Participating organizations and Wash-CAP are using tools that include town halls, an advisory panel, targeted legislation, and materials from the Take 25 program from NCMEC.
The goal of the Safe Child Project is to drastically reduce the number of children abused and exploited in Washington and other participating states, and to create a lasting pattern of child and parent empowerment. Every child deserves to feel safe, and every care-giver needs to tools to create a barrier between their children and crime.
Participants in the Tacoma Safe Child Town Hall include the Legislative Youth Advisory Council, City of Tacoma, Department of Corrections, Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital, SAC of Pierce County, Senator Regala of LD 27, Tacoma TV, Tacoma Schools, Pierce County Prosecutor, and the Tacoma Police Department. Tremendous organizational support and vision came from Safe Streets, which is a commendable organization.
The Tacoma Safe Child Town Hall was recorded, and will be aired on Tacoma TV 12. Please visit their website for air times.