Earlier this month, I let you know that the San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center would be changing its name. Today, I am proud to announce that we are officially Safe & Sound.
For more than 44 years, we’ve been at the forefront of child abuse prevention. During these decades, our organization — in partnership with you and others — has made remarkable strides in protecting our city’s children and advocating for their safety. Yet, every day we are reminded of how much more there is to do if we’re going to achieve our goal of ending child abuse in San Francisco and reducing it in surrounding communities.
As we work towards this end, we felt one thing held us back from fully embracing this audacious goal — our name. Therefore, on September 26, the San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center became Safe & Sound.
Each and every day we work to create a society where children are safe, families are strong, and communities are sound.
Our journey to a new name took more than a year and a great deal of thought. As you can imagine, it was not easy giving up our cherished name, but we felt it was the right and necessary decision.
Safe & Sound allows us to unify our work. Today, we are many things — and names — to so many different people (such as San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center, TALK Line Family Support Center, Kids’ Turn, Child Abuse Council, SafeStart, and more). By presenting our programs under a single name, we will significantly enhance the community’s ability to identify our organization and seek our services.
Safe & Sound allows us to focus on safety. Though our mission is focused on child abuse prevention, our work is focused on creating a future without it. We work to create joyous childhoods where child abuse is no longer a concept.
Safe & Sound allows us to expand our impact. Over four decades we have woven child-focused policies and programs into the fabric of San Francisco. As we look to the future we will continue to reach far beyond the borders of San Francisco, scaling our model and sharing our successes to support the safety and well-being of children and their families everywhere.
On a very practical level we encountered several challenges with the name San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center. It’s a mouthful, causing people to stumble through it and often forget the very key word of “prevention.” And, the term “abuse” carries a stigma deterring the very families who need our services the most from seeking our support.
Make no mistake, our mission, our work, our programs, and our people remain the same.
Stay tuned. Over the coming month, we’ll be sharing with you our future initiatives as we work towards this reality. For now, take a look at how big this problem really is, how we’re planning to reduce and ultimately end child abuse, and the work we do everyday to protect children in our community.
About a month ago at our annual Blue Ribbon Luncheon, I shared our vision with the 600+ supporters and advocates who filled Grand Ballroom at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. Together, we not only raised more funds than ever ($750,000+) to support the work of the Prevention Center, but the energy around our mission of preventing child abuse and our goal of ending it in our city was palpable. It was a truly special day.
To all who joined us on May 12, thank you. To our chairs Wayne Osborne and Jill Woodman, and to our auction hosts David Glickman and Richard Pio Roda, thank you. To our keynote, Wes Moore your words will forever inspire me and call me to not just compassion but action — thank you. To each and every one of you, thank you for joining us in this work.
For those who were not able to be in the room with us, I would like to share with you my remarks — why it is I believe we can end child abuse. You can read them right here.
It’s Child Abuse Prevention Month: time to stand up and step out. Join us online and in-person at San Francisco City Hall (April 4 @ 11AM) to show your support for the children of San Francisco. Every child deserves a safe and happy childhood; yet, our city continues to have one of the highest rates of child abuse in the Bay Area. While the widening economic divide in the City puts more children at risk for abuse, child abuse crosses all zip codes, socio-economic levels, ethnicities, and family structures.
Racing down Waller Street as fast as she could with her little 2-year-old legs, Emily abruptly stopped in front of the fire house and pointed towards the doorbell. She knew where she was headed, and she wanted to get to the Playroom as quickly as possible. Her mother, Denise, finally caught up and lifted Emily to push the bell.
It’s the day in which we focus not on ourselves, but on our community. The day in which we rally support for our cause: a community without child abuse.
Each holiday season, we decorate our walls, and ensure our telephone hotline is well staffed — because it’s the time of year we receive the most crisis calls. We turn our Playroom into a toy store to ensure every family can afford to have a festive and joyous holiday season, helping to reduce the stress during this already stressful time of year. The time of year we ask for your support.
Dear Friends,
“What do we tell our children?” Our clients and community have been asking us this question and trying to understand its meaning after the unanticipated results of our national election. Many members of our community — women; immigrants; people of color; Muslims, Jews, and other religious minorities; LGBTQ people; people with disabilities — felt directly threatened by the words spoken during this election season. Fear exists of what might happen now.
It’s that spooky, ghostly, ghouling time of year. Booo!
It’s time to turn on your imagination and turn off the lights. To pull out the chest of miscellaneous hats and masks and start up the sewing machine. Halloween is a fun holiday for the whole family and a fantastic way to spend time with your family and neighbors. To me, it’s one of the greatest acts of community engagement we have each year.
The Prevention Center is a special place to so many families. It’s a safe base, a refuge for support and learning. It’s also special for the folks that work here; we have some real gems. Molly is, and has always been, one of those gems. Molly is not only our go-to resource for parenting education, she’s also a trusted source of support and friendship to us staff members throughout each week.The clients rave about her parenting groups, and much of the Prevention Center’s success with parents has to do with Molly’s engaging and supportive style. I’ve learned so much working with Molly over the years, and I feel blessed to call her a colleague.
Child Safety Awareness Program in action with Ms. Brianna in the classroom.
Gabriella raised her hand and asked to speak with Ms. Brianna privately. At the end of the lesson, outside the 5th grade classroom in the elementary school hallway, Gabriella asked whether it was okay that her parents touched her private body parts, the parts that her swimsuit cover. Ms. Brianna reminded Gabriella of the differences between a safe and unsafe touch. Gabriella nodded with understanding and started talking about how uncomfortable she felt at home, and how much she disliked being touched by her parents.
I met Joe by happenstance on the shore of the Eel River. As we discussed tubing and whether or not there were eels in the river, I came to learn that Joe is a Bay Area native who’s passionate about teaching San Francisco’s children. Since that first introduction, I have come to be inspired by Joe’s passion for children, for ensuring their education reaches beyond the books and believing that his job is to be their teacher and their advocate — making sure each student has that one caring adult. Here’s to the lucky youngsters who have Mr. Siedman this new school year.