(Chelsea Update would like to thank Jesse Kauffman for the information in this story.)
For years, a SRSLY “Safe Homes” list has been online at the websites for SRSLY Coalitions in Chelsea, Stockbridge, and Dexter.
This year, the Safe Homes list will move off the internet and into the neighborhoods of these communities, too.
A SRSLY Safe Home is one in which the family has committed to providing a safe and substance-free environment for their children and any other youth who spend time there. Kids and adults can be confident that minors under the age of 21 will not be offered or allowed to use drugs or alcohol while they are in these families’ homes.
The Safe Homes List is a record of all the families who have made this commitment.
“By hosting the Safe Homes list on our website, we wanted to enable families to have easy access to the list,” said Jesse Kauffman, program coordinator for SRSLY in Chelsea. “If a child has been invited to a home with which their parents aren’t familiar, the parents can check the list to see if the other family has made a commitment to keep their kids and others safe.”
Families who have joined the SRSLY Safe Homes list will have the chance to post their commitment in their front yards as SRSLY is distributing Safe Homes yard signs to households who have joined the list.
The coalitions in each community will then ask families to post the yard sign during times when parties where underage drinking and drug use may be more likely to occur, such as the week of homecoming or prom.
Families can sign up for the Safe Homes list in their community by emailing their respective program coordinator, Emily Stewart in Stockbridge – [email protected], Stephanie Jacques in Dexter – [email protected], or Jesse Kauffman in Chelsea – [email protected].
SRSLY is holding a regional meeting for members of all three coalitions to share ideas and strategies for the year ahead. Anyone interested in SRSLY in Chelsea, Dexter or Stockbridge is invited to attend.
The regional SRSLY meeting will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 30 at noon at Crossroads Community Church in Stockbridge.
(Publisher’s note: I am on the board of SRSLY.)
