Safe & Sound is committed to serving families and communities. One of the ways our Community Partnerships team supports families across San Francisco is through the Communities of Care initiative. At its heart, Communities of Care seeks to unify practices across San Francisco Family Resource Centers by using the Five Protective Factors framework. The Protective Factors are areas of family functioning that help support youth and families to be strong. Research shows that when these factors are present in populations of families, it reduces the risk of abuse, maltreatment, and negative outcomes. The project supports teams to train staff to use the Five Protective Factors framework to plan, implement, analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of their services.

Communities of Care prioritizes a deep engagement with partners and the community, meeting partners and teams where they are and not implementing a one-size-fits-all approach. This has led to a framework that prioritizes adaptation, connection and collaboration as essential, not only to the project, but also as key components of the Five Protective Factors themselves. Over the years, Communities of Care has blended these values to create an initiative that combines support for families with collaborative learning across agencies.

The initiative began in 2020 with funding from the Doris Duke Foundation and facilitation by Safe & Sound. In 2021, fifteen Family Resource Centers in San Francisco joined together in a year of planning, during which partners drafted a Theory of Change and Logic Model, while a group of “Changemakers” adapted the previously published and well-known Protective Factors Survey for potential use by participating agencies. That same year, the first cohort launched with four initial participating Family Resource Centers. In the following years additional agencies joined, four more in 2022 and two in 2023, marking steady growth of the project across the city.

A key idea that came from the early planning work was the creation of a designated collaborative meeting space, thus forming the early concept of the Communities of Care Organizing Hub (CoCO Hub). The CoCO Hub is a unique meeting space facilitated by the Safe & Sound team and shaped by the participants that meet in person on a quarterly basis. This space quickly became the heartbeat of the initiative as it sets itself apart from other collaborative and training spaces with an emphasis on participant collaboration.

All these elements come together to create a space where Family Resource Centers work together to find ways to bring consistent language, understanding, and training around the Five Protective Factors, thereby continuously refining and unifying how local families experience the web of support across San Francisco.

Feedback from participants over the years has highlighted the community and collaborative feeling that is created through the CoCO Hub. Participants have noted that the space feels “welcoming and very informative” while also providing feedback that they enjoy meeting and building relationships with others in the group. A focus on networking, sharing ideas and resources, and collaborative learning has helped build the CoCO Hub into a meeting space that is vibrant and remains regularly attended.

By creating and utilizing a space that supports implementation and capacity building within agencies, CoCO Hub strengthens the infrastructure that allows Family Resource Centers to deliver effective, strengths-based services to families. What began as a planning effort is now a citywide framework for collaboration, shared learning, and collective impact.

In 2024 alone, Safe & Sound’s Community Education team spoke to 3,991 K-5 students about Safety Awareness through our partnership with the San Francisco Unified School District.

This cornerstone of our prevention efforts teaches children how to keep themselves safe, how to respond to different types of pressure from others, and to talk to a trusted adult about their experiences.

The content is simple, but the concepts being articulated are potentially life changing for the children in the class. Topics covered include:

• Being assertive – saying “no” when someone tries to break a safety rule, getting away from them and telling someone.
  
• A simple rule – never touch a gun.
  
• That there is a difference between safe and unsafe touch, and which body parts are private and should only be touched by adults whose role is to keep them clean and healthy – namely parents/guardians and doctors/nurses.
  
• How to use the support system of safe grownups, telling them where you are going or reporting if someone breaks a safety rule.

The community educators generally divide these topics into three distinct but interrelated sessions of 30 minutes, visiting each class for three days in a row, in a tightly packed schedule that sees them visit 30 institutions per year across San Francisco.

Through rhymes, claps, roleplays and patiently answering questions, the community educators ensure that students understand the key concepts. This consistent curriculum is delivered to students throughout their school journey, to reinforce the messages and add levels of complexity to the information as children get older, start to understand the concepts and have different experiences.

In response to parent and teacher feedback citing their most prominent concerns, in 2025 the classes will start to incorporate internet safety, demonstrating our commitment to ensuring the curriculum remains as valuable and up to date as possible.

Sharon was overwhelmed with sadness and it deeply affected her daughter, Emma. Emma mirrored her mom’s emotion and stopped playing with friends and her joy faded as her mom’s depression worsened. Seeing her daughter’s happiness fade, Sharon knew she needed help but didn’t know where to begin.

Then she found Safe & Sound. Through drop-in sessions and support groups, Sharon connected with other parents and realized how her family benefitted from these programs and services. With the support of the counseling team and guidance, Sharon grew more resilient and overcame her struggles, becoming a more confident and present mother. Meanwhile, Emma attended the Therapeutic Children’s Playroom, where she learned critical social-emotional skills in a nurturing space. Slowly, Emma found her joy again, reconnecting with friends and enjoying playtime like before.