OSU Parking and Transit Services Joins Project Safe Place

Friday, May 29, 2009

Stillwater, Okla. – As of June 1st, OSU Parking & Transit Services will partner with Payne County Youth Services to become one of thirty-six other businesses and institutions in the Stillwater community, as well as the other 16,000 sites across the country, participating in Project Safe Place.

Launched in 1983 in Louisville, KY, Project Safe Place has helped remove hundreds of young people from troubled situations by providing a “Safe Place” for those young people to go.  The main goal for Project Safe Place is to develop a network of businesses and public locations in each community that maximizes the number of places in which troubled youth can turn in times of need.

In order to make it easier for youth to distinguish which businesses are participating in the program, each location displays the distinct yellow and black Safe Place logo.  Youth are made familiar with the Safe Place Program and logo due to the local youth services involvement with the area middle, junior high, and high schools.  The program targets youth ages 12 to 17; however, any youth in crisis knows he or she can enter a Safe Place location and get help.  

The unique aspect OSU Transit Services will provide Project Safe Place is the fact that along with the main office at the Multi-Modal Transportation Facility located at the corner of Monroe and Hall of Fame, OSU Parking and Transit Services is offering 18 mobile Safe Places (buses) that cover a broad range of the Stillwater Community.  “The ability of our buses to constantly be on the road provides the Stillwater youth even more opportunities to receive help, and as members of the community we feel it is our duty to provide this service,” commented Steve Spradling, Director of Parking and Transit Services.

As previously mentioned, OSU Transit Services is working in conjunction with Payne County Youth Services in order to bring Project Safe Place to the transit system.  Although new program implementation involves an expected level of uncertainty, the communication and coordination between the two organizations has gone very smoothly.  “There are many opportunities for OSU and the community to collaborate with our agency to bring about advocacy and services to our youth and families,” stated Janet Fultz, executive director, Payne County Youth Services.  “We appreciate OSU for providing this important service and look forward to continuing to explore these opportunities.”

OSU Parking and Transit Services, in joining Project Safe Place, hopes to further reiterate its mission to serve not only the needs of Oklahoma State University but also the needs of the Stillwater community and its young people.  “Project Safe Place is more than just a new program,” commented Spradling.  “It is a way for OSU Transit Services, Payne County Youth Services, and the Stillwater community to work together in a way that benefits us all – providing safety and security for our youth.”

For more information about OSU Parking and Transit Services and Project Safe Place, please visit us online at www.transit.okstate.edu .  Also, for more information about Payne County Youth Services, please visit their website at www.pcys.org .