SAFE

10/11/2026

Our offices will be closed Monday October 12th.

Our hotline remains open 24/7/365 if you are in need of support. Advocates are always available at 800.625.1414

10/10/2026

💙 Prevention goes beyond the classroom!

From schools and businesses to community partnerships and professional trainings, prevention education happens wherever people come together to learn and make a difference.

Partnering with local law enforcement, like Salem PD’s SRO McMeen, helps us connect educators with valuable resources, support, and education to better protect and empower the communities we serve.

Together, we’re building safer communities through collaboration! 🤝💙

A huge THANK YOU to Kendall Rooney and her amazing team with SAFE for coming to Salem Elementary District 111 and allowing SRO McMeen the opportunity to partner with them to educate staff on the importance of recognizing grooming behaviors.

Grooming doesn’t always look the way people expect it to. It can be subtle, calculated, and easily overlooked when we don’t know what warning signs to watch for.

Awareness is one of the most powerful tools we have when it comes to protecting our children.

By educating the adults who interact with children every day, we are helping build a stronger line of defense against grooming, exploitation, and abuse.

SRO McMeen was incredibly grateful to Kendall and her team for the work they do, the knowledge they share, and their dedication to keeping children safe.

💙 Because protecting children isn’t just one person’s responsibility. It’s ALL of ours.

10/09/2026

10/09/2026

Grooming doesn’t always look like abuse.

It can look like attention. Trust. Special treatment. Someone who seems to understand you when no one else does.

That is part of what makes grooming so powerful.

Grooming is a process of manipulation used to build trust, create secrecy, weaken boundaries, and make harmful behavior feel normal or deserved. The effects can continue long after the abuse has ended. Survivors may experience confusion, anxiety, shame, self-doubt, difficulty trusting others, challenges in relationships, and other lasting emotional effects.

And perhaps one of the most important things we can say is this:
It was not their fault.

At SAFE, we believe prevention starts with education. When young people, caregivers, educators, and communities understand what grooming can look like, we are better equipped to recognize warning signs, have important conversations, and respond when something doesn't feel right.

💙 SAFE offers educational programs and professional trainings for schools and organizations interested in learning more about grooming, recognizing warning signs, understanding its impact, and creating safer environments for students.

If your school or organization would like to learn more about bringing prevention education or professional training to your community, reach out to SAFE.

And if you or someone you know needs support, SAFE’s 24-hour crisis hotline is available at 1-800-625-1414.

Together, we can recognize grooming, start important conversations, and create safer communities.

You are not alone. We are here for you. 💙

10/08/2026

C is for Cookie, S is for SAFE!

SAFE had a **spooktacular** time at **Trick or Treat Street at Charlie Brown Park in Flora!** 🎃🍬

A huge thank you to the Clay County Health Department for hosting and organizing such a fun community event! We loved being part of an afternoon filled with costumes, candy, laughter, and lots of Halloween spirit. 🧡

And of course, our SAFE staff showed up in true Halloween fashion! Our **Grouch and Cookie Monster** were ready to hand out treats, and spread some smiles. 🍪

Events like Trick or Treat Street are a wonderful way to bring families, community partners, and local organizations together while creating **safe, welcoming spaces for everyone.**

Thank you to everyone who stopped by our table, grabbed some goodies, and shared a little Halloween fun with us!

**Flora, you were fang-tastic! 🧛‍♀️🎃

Until next time, stay spooky, stay sweet, and **stay SAFE!** 💚

10/07/2026

The theme this year was "Strike Up the Fun". There were over 15,000 people in attendance. We are so proud that our float won 1st in the “other” category!

Shout out and a special thank you to our Fiscal Director Jamie for coming up with our theme and single handedly creating all of our decorations for our float. Shout out to Jamie’s husband for helping to assemble her vision! Our team met Saturday morning and assembled the float and then walked the parade. We shared sweet treats with the crowd. It was so much fun seeing so many smiling faces and being thanked for our work that we do for the community. Shout out and thank you to Mel’s husband for towing our float for us.

We had a special guest, Faith, our therapy dog, who stole the show. Adults and children were so excited to meet her and have the opportunity to pet her. She was such a trooper and wore her clown costume the entire time. Special thanks to our Advocate Donna for sharing Faith with everyone.

We had so much fun walking in the parade and sharing our free and confidential services with so many people.

10/06/2026

Maria and Baylie, our counselors, Regina, our Prevention and Awareness Director and Mel, our ExecutiveDirector spent 4 days in Springfield at the 2026 ICASA Statewide Conference. The theme this year was “Roots to Resilience:Cultivating Collaboration, Compassion, and Community.

While at the conference we had the privilege of listening to several keynote speakers. Ebone Bell presented “Building Bridges:Navigating Civil Discourse and Difficult Conversations”. Dr.LaDrina Wilson presented “The Odds Didnt Win: How Compassion, Community, and Care Shaped a Survivor into a Leader”. Sloan Thompson presented “Emerging Issues in Digital Safety. Dr. Elena Doskey de Lebon presented our final keynote, “Rejecting the Extraordinary and Embracing the Everyday to Reduce Secondary Trauma and Burnout”. Each presentation was powerful and brought a different message.

In addition to the keynotes, our team learned from so many other courses offered. We are excited to bring back new knowledge to our team to better serve our clients.

Our team also attended the Moxie luncheon where 8 individuals from law enforcement, SANES, volunteers, States Attorney and MDT team, a school and a cast of a Mamma Mia play who were also activists were honored.

Thank you to ICASA and their staff for providing us with a wonderful conference.

10/06/2026

Please join us!

🚨 PARENTS, MARK YOUR CALENDARS! 🚨

CCS #135 is hosting a Parental Awareness Night: Digital Safety & Grooming on Thursday, October 15th, from 5:30–6:30 PM at the Centralia Junior High School Gym.

This event is open to ALL parents and caregivers in the Centralia City Schools District! You do not have to have a student at CMS or CJHS to attend. We encourage parents from all of our district schools to join us for this important conversation.

We’ll be joined by SAFE Prevention Educator Kendall Rooney and School Resource Officer Josh Hall as they share important information about how we can work together to protect our children from predators both online and in person.

📅 Thursday, October 15
⏰ 5:30–6:30 PM
📍 CJHS Tiger Gym

10/03/2026

We can’t wait to see everyone at Salem‘s Little Egypt parade today at 2 o’clock! We hope you always remember that you should not have to choose between having FUN and Feeling SAFE! 🎡🎠🎟️

10/03/2026

A message from the SAFE Team as you head into the weekend:

To every survivor who has been seeing the news about Cornell University this week:

We see you. We believe you. You are not alone.

Stories involving sexual violence can bring back memories, emotions, and physical reactions you weren't expecting. You may feel anxious, angry, numb, overwhelmed, or exhausted. You may have trouble sleeping or concentrating. It may even feel as though you're experiencing your own trauma all over again.

Whatever you're feeling, there is no "right" way to respond.

A few gentle reminders:

• What happened to you was not your fault. Not what you wore. Not what you drank. Not where you were. Not who you trusted.

• If you were intoxicated, asleep, unconscious, or otherwise unable to understand or agree to what was happening, you could not give consent.

• There is no deadline for healing. Some survivors talk about what happened immediately. Others wait months or years. You deserve support whenever you are ready.

• It's okay to protect your peace. Mute the words. Take a break from the news. Skip the comments. Put the phone down.

If you're feeling overwhelmed, try grounding yourself in the present moment. Put your feet flat on the floor. Take a slow breath in and let it out even slower. Look around and name five things you can see.

You are here. You are safe in this moment.

If you need someone to talk to, SAFE is here 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A caring Advocate is ready to take your call. You don't have to explain everything. You don't have to have it all figured out. Our services are free and confidential.

SAFE 24-Hour Sexual Assault Hotline
1-800-625-1414

And to everyone in our communities: check on the people you love. Choose your words carefully when discussing these stories or commenting online. You never know who may be reading while quietly carrying a story of their own.

Start by believing. Support survivors.