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Resource Report 15 - SafePlace · Resource Report

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Hello and welcome to Resource Report, where we
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share with you important information about local
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nonprofits and resource organizations that support
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the community we share, produced by Pathways
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to Agency. I am your host, Rainmaker. Today's
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guest is Kayla Young with Safe Place. I am here
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at Safe Place. in downtown olympia with kayla
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young how are you doing kayla doing well thank
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you yeah so can you uh introduce yourself and
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your position and share with me how you came
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to be here yeah um so i'm kayla my um title is
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um the youth prevention sexual assault manager
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which is shifting as we're reorganizing so I'll
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be doing outreach and some direct services and
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then working in prevention still. I've been here
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about a year and a half and my undergraduate
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work is all infant and family mental health and
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I found that a lot of the work I was doing there
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was kind of like putting out these fires after
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trauma and working with kids and families that
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have struggled through domestic violence and
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sexual assault. And I really wanted to try to
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get ahead of it a bit more. And so coming to
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Safe Place and being able to work in prevention
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and doing like parent education and youth education
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while still helping those that have been harmed
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already has been really fulfilling. So that's
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how I ended up here. And yeah, it's been a really
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great year and a half. Awesome. Yeah. Okay. So
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can you give me a brief history of Safe Place?
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What Safe Place is? Yeah. Safe Place has been
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around for a really long time. It's been about
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50 years. It's been in the heart of Olympia the
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whole time, although the office building has been
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elsewhere. We've always served Thurston County.
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And it started as a DV. domestic violence and
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sexual assault non -profit organization that's
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what we are today yeah oh awesome um so on your
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website there are a lot of different uh just
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resources yeah so some of those are just general
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information resources that some of those are
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actually services they provide. Can you talk
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about that? Yeah, yeah. So our services that
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we actually provide, so I always start off with
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talking about our sexual assault services and
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DV services inside hospitals. So our advocates
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are dispatched 24 -7 to support someone who is
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on their way to the hospital who's experienced
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severe domestic violence or sexual assault. And
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we're there in the hospitals offering emotional
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support, offering more resources, making sure
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that they know their rights as a survivor as
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well, and just supporting them through for as
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long as they need us to be there. We provide
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follow -up to that as well. We have our legal
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services, which helps people with intimate partner
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violence, restraining orders, protection orders,
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going to court. and supporting them in court.
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We've had advocates sit up on the stand with
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survivors for emotional support. Moving into,
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we do community outreach, helping populations
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in the community with food, supplies like household
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supplies, shampoo, conditioner, things like that,
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clothing. We have our housing program that houses
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Individuals who have experienced domestic violence
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or sexual assault, and they're really just trying
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to get back on their feet from that. People can
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lose a lot when they flee. Everything from furniture
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to identification, income. So we do our best
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to get them back on their feet and housed. We
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have our shelter, too, which is a level four
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high lethality shelter. We are sheltering people
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who are at the greatest risk for homicide or
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severe stalking and things like that. So we have,
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I think, 11 or 12 rooms now. We screen people
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in, any identity, any gender. Everyone is welcome.
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They screen in. And we just work to... get them
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to safety we keep them safe while they're here
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and then help moving forward even if that's into
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our housing program we can help them into there
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as well and we also did just start our contracts
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it's a domestic violence high risk team so we
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have officers that will call us directly on scenes
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of survivors who have experienced high levels
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of domestic violence that score high on that
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danger assessment, they call us directly and
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we speak to that survivor right then and there.
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And that night, do we need shelter? Do we need
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hotel? Do we need a safety plan? And then we
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follow them through the court system as they
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go to provide support and make sure that we're
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trying to reduce the rates of and like going
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back and having to do all this over again when
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it gets even more dangerous. And so that's a
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program that we now have to have. Awesome. So
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I want to go in a little bit on some of those
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programs. The one that you just mentioned that's
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new working with law enforcement. Can you talk
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about a little bit more like details around that?
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Yeah. Yeah. So this started. A couple years ago,
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but it's new to us at Safe Place. And it had
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been designed as a scale to assess risk and danger.
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And they started applying it in law enforcement
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and other areas. And now they're trying to roll
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it out as a standard. And so what happens is
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police officers are dispatched. Right now we
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work with Lacey. Police Department. I think we
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work with the Sheriff's Department and we're
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kind of figuring things out with OPD. They will
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do the danger assessment on site. They will call
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us and say, hey, this is a really high danger
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assessment score. And so then we talk to that
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survival right then and there, usually over the
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phone. And if they want to receive services,
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then we say, hey, this is what we do tonight.
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get you safe tonight? Do you have family that
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can come be with you? Most of the time in those
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calls, the perpetrator will be arrested. So they'll
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have a safe night. But from there, we don't know,
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like, are they released? Did they make bail?
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Are they going to be back? Are they released
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that night? So safety and planning with them
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in that moment. And then from there, if they
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pursue charges or want support in that, We help
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them through all of that, restraining orders,
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protection orders, going to court. And the wonderful
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thing with this is that we also work directly
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with the prosecuting attorney's office and the
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police department so that we all know what this
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incident was, what happened, so we can work together
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to make sure that no details are lost as it travels
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through the court system so that there's fair...
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and things will remain safe for that survivor.
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Because it was so dangerous, nothing's getting
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lost and we're all on the same page when it comes
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to sentencing and things like that. Yeah. So
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I have a question about that. You know, working
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with law enforcement can be very triggery for
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some individuals. There's fear oftentimes around
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involvement. How would you navigate that? Yeah,
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that is a big thing that we see at Safe Place
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because oftentimes if we're responding to domestic
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violence or sexual assault, even human trafficking,
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there's police involved and there's that fear,
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right? Whether it's possible. warrants that somebody
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has there's an implicit fear of law enforcement
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because of the history of law enforcement with
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racial profiling and there's a lot of perceived
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and some of it realized aggression on behalf
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of police department and not being so trauma
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informed and so the first thing that we do when
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we meet somebody we go into the hospital or we
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talk to them the first thing that we say is we
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are not affiliated in any way with law enforcement.
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We are separate from them. We do not work for
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them. We will advocate for you, whether it's
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with them or with whoever else you need support
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with. And we also let them know too, in the hospitals,
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that we are not affiliated with the hospital.
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We are just Safe Place and we're here just to
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help you. Nobody else is partnered with us to
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the point where, we would give them information
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unless you tell us it's okay, we are here to
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just protect you. And that tends to make things
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easier, but not always. Some people still don't
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trust and that's okay and it's warranted and
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we just do the best that we can to try to let
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them know that we're there and that we're there
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just for them. So it's a toss -up, but a lot
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of times once they hear that, they know, okay.
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These people are safe from safe place and they
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can support me. Yeah. There's another concern
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that kind of goes in along with this sort of
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thing, which is the role of the mandated reporter.
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Yes. Yeah. And so. All of the legal advocates,
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is it only your legal advocates or anyone here
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at Safe Place? Anyone considered a mandated reporter?
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Anyone here, including our front desk. And we
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are big on, especially with CPS, we know there's
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a history of CPS being discriminatory or, you
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know, they just, no program is perfect, but that
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program. has a history. And so we let people
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know right up front, even when we're getting
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consent for services, we are mandated reporters.
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If we suspect or you disclose that there's child
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abuse happening, we have to report. Yeah. We
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also let them know that we aren't pushing for
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that. That's not our goal. We want your family
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to stay safe and stay united. And CPS can be
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a barrier there. And so. We let them know if
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you need to ask a question about CPS or about
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something that happened with your child and you're
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unsure and you're scared, say, what if? 24th
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is a hypothetical situation. Because the last
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thing we want to do is make things more stressful.
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And by someone coming here and saying, we are
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fleeing domestic violence, is already... and
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showing us that you're putting your child first.
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You're here with your child trying to leave that
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situation. We don't want anyone to come in and
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then take your child. So just letting them know
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up front. And if there is ever a time that we
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do have to call CPS, for me, my best practice
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is letting that family know. And sometimes I'll
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say, we can make the call together because if
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you're there in that call too and they can hear
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you and you can... speak with them and they can
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see that you're working with us, that's a huge
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leap forward. And it makes a big difference a
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lot of the time. Good to know. So an important
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message to take away from this is wording matters.
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Yes, it does. Yes, it does. Moving on from that,
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your domestic violence program. Yeah. Can you
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explain a little bit more about that? Is that
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a support group or other? How do you handle that?
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Yeah, we do actually have a support group. I
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forgot to mention earlier, it's for sexual assault
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and domestic violence. We've put it together
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because what we're really talking about is trauma.
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And so we don't go into details of an event,
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but we just help people process and learn about
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trauma and how it affects our body and our lives.
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And so that's really impactful. Our support group
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went from one to two people a week with some
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tweaking and a new advocate who runs support
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group. We're getting upwards of 20 people a week
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and it's phenomenal. That sense of community
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itself is huge. And so the one thing that does
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get really tricky with domestic violence in general
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for Safe Place. is that we are intimate partner
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violence. So domestic violence can be somebody
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that you live with. It can be between family.
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But for us, our dollars are designated for intimate
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partner violence. And so sometimes someone walking
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in saying, you know, my dad is doing this to
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me or my brother is doing this to me. It's hard.
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We want to help everyone. federally speaking
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and financially speaking we don't have the funds
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for that but we're going to do everything we
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can to get you to the right place to support
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you in that um so that that's where safe place
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is a little different is that it's just intimate
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partner okay with sexual assault it is different
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it could be stranger it could be anybody who's
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experienced sexual assault we will help you that's
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an important clarification yeah Yeah, definitely
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good for people to know. And so that also explains
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why you have such an extensive list of resources
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on your website. You have a domestic violence
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shelters listed. There's Hope Alliance, Turning
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Point, Dove House, the YWCA in Kitsap and Pierce.
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Yeah. Yeah. We're always our other places that
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you can and you talk with them and connect them
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and you might call out to one of those places
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and say, here, I have this person here that I
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want to send you. Absolutely. Yeah. We do have
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someone right at the street, an organization
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called Innovations, and we've had them call us
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and say, hey, we have someone here right now.
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that could really use your services. We don't
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offer those services. I'm going to walk them
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up the block to you. And I love that. I love
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that. That's just how we work with one another.
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And it's so important and it's personal and comforting
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and trauma informed. And so that's what we shoot
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for. We're always able to call and say, Hey,
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you know, we're from safe place. Do you have
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space for this person? And things like that.
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Definitely. Yeah. You are listening to Resource
16:15
Report on Chaos and my interview with Kayla Young
16:18
with Safe Place. We'll be right back after a
16:21
brief message. Safe Place would like to talk
16:23
with survivors of sexual abuse, assault, and
16:26
rape about how they have found healing and how
16:28
Safe Place can better support survivors. All
16:31
adults who want to talk about their experiences
16:33
and insights are welcome to share their stories
16:36
in confidential interviews done by phone or in
16:39
person. To schedule an interview, call SafePlace
16:42
at 360 -786 -8754 or visit safeplaceolympia .org.
16:52
Welcome back to Resource Report on Chaos. Let's
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return to the conversation with Kayla Young at
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SafePlace. And then also working with, you work
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with different legal aid services. You have a
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legal clinic here. Yep, that's with South Sound
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Legal. I always forget because it's after hours
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for Safe Place, but it is so incredibly important
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and wonderful to have these officials or attorneys
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come and volunteer their time to help these individuals.
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It's huge. It's a game changer. And then our
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advocates are trained to help with that paperwork
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outside of clinic too. But just what a wonderful
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resource. I think anyone on the street, if something
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were to happen and they needed an attorney, holy
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smokes, that's... It's a lot of money just thinking
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about it, you know. And so to have that support
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there and get guidance is incredible. That's
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just a great resource. I can personally attest
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how amazing it is going through my own divorce.
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This was how I did it, coming to your legal clinic
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for over a year. Yep. Yes. And we got through
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it and it was helpful and supportive. One thing
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that I want to, you know, ask about is the whole
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situation with just getting into the legal clinic,
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okay? You've got to get here 45 minutes early
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and stand in line and hope to be one of the first
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maybe five or six people in line. You know, and
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y 'all are always telling us don't be in the
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parking lot. Yeah. But then how else are we supposed
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to do that? And so people will be sitting in
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their car. 100 % issue. So we have been looking
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at things. We used to have more staff, so it
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wasn't that we get through people, but not enough.
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And so what we've come up with is in acknowledging
18:58
that there are barriers, I have to take the bus.
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Like I can't get there until this time because
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I have my child or I have to get off of work.
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That's not fair. Those are barriers and they're
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inevitable barriers. And so what we're doing
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now is having people register online. Which is
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also can be a barrier. But if you're going to
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read, you need to register, call us and I will
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help you do it on the phone. You know what I
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mean? That way you have a spot because you still
19:26
need to talk to someone regardless of the hours
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that you work. You know, the situation with child,
19:31
bring your child, you know. So we're trying to
19:34
make it more accessible and also not wasting
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people's time who take their time to get here
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and they're just not able to be seen. And so
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that's what we're doing moving forward. And that's
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on behalf of sound legal aid as well. They're
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wanting to do it that way. And I think it makes
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better sense for everyone. That way it's evenly
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distributed. When did that online sign up begin?
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Four weeks ago. It's very new. It's very new.
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And we're still working out the kinks of it.
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But so far it's been good. And we're telling
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people that do come by. This is how we're doing
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it now. And if there's kinks that happen or it's
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not working out for one, we're going to get you
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services. We're going to find a way. We have
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to work some things out and it comes up, but
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we're getting there and this is going to help.
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Okay. Yeah. It's a process. It is. It is. Hang
20:30
in there. Yes. Okay. Yeah. So in this transition
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of setting that up better, Is it the sort of
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thing where people maybe don't know about that
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or, you know? they're not able to somehow do
20:48
it online or call or whatever. So they're showing
20:50
up 45 minutes early. They're the second person
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in line. And then all those people get told,
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none of you have gotten in because we've already
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got a list online. Is that what's happening?
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So we've done a lot of advertising, a lot of
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speaking with people. We'll speak to people who
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are at the court when we go to court. We're just
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trying to spread the word and so does sound legal
21:13
aid. But if someone does show up, I would assume
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if there's time, they're going to do it for sure.
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And with those appointments being set, it's saving
21:23
time. And if there is that barrier and they just
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show up and say, this is all I could do, we're
21:31
going to help. Like, let's hop on the computer.
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Do you need a phone? We might have a phone. Things
21:37
like that to just make sure that we're helping
21:40
them. get to where they need to be. Because in
21:43
a lot of agencies, it's easy to say, all you
21:46
need to do is this. I don't know why you're not
21:48
doing this. Well, think about the 10 other hurdles
21:51
that are in the way and also emotionally just
21:54
- Task initiation. Exactly. Executive dysfunction
21:58
issues. 100%, especially in trauma. You cannot
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bring your brain down. You can't connect to those
22:06
cognitive processes. When you're experiencing
22:09
trauma, it's just not, that's not how your brain
22:12
works. And that's what we want to help with.
22:14
It's not just getting you the resources, but
22:17
getting you there too. Yeah. And remind us again,
22:23
when are the legal clinics? Yes, they are the
22:26
first and third Thursday evenings. But can be
22:33
changed because of holidays. So just letting
22:35
people know, keeping people updated, especially
22:39
people who come in and are like, hey, the question
22:41
about this I've been working doing with Sound
22:45
Legal Aid. Oh, my goodness. Let me let you know,
22:48
too, that we've changed it to this day next week.
22:51
So just trying to let everybody know. And what
22:54
times are they at? So we close our doors at five
22:57
for just walk -ins in general. public um so getting
23:02
here around five your appointment time will be
23:06
um the first one i think will be around five
23:07
um and then just going i think they have an end
23:11
time but depending on appointments too they can
23:14
go longer things can happen we're gonna keep
23:16
an appointment we're gonna work with you i think
23:18
here's tonight till 9 34 yep and we have wonderful
23:22
advocates that stay from safe place and those
23:25
attorneys that will stay and just make sure you
23:28
get what your need what your need The drop -ins.
23:38
Drop -ins. Yep. Mondays, you can drop in in business
23:43
hours. And we have whoever's here on Monday who's
23:48
an advocate, we're going to help you. There's
23:50
a misconception that it's just legal drop -ins.
23:53
Okay. It's for anybody. come drop, you have a
23:56
question, you need to talk to somebody. A lot
23:59
of our legal advocates do come and work with
24:02
drop -ins. You can request a legal advocate for
24:04
drop -ins if we have one, but I'll also go down
24:07
and do drop -ins too. And you know, how can I
24:09
help you if it's a protection order? Well, I
24:13
actually can't help you with that. I'm going
24:15
to go grab a legal advocate. So we're here. Um,
24:19
whoever's in the building is really just trying
24:21
to help out. Talk about your shelter, residential
24:31
services. Yeah, shelter is, because it's so high
24:37
needs, high danger levels, we don't disclose
24:43
the address to anybody. It's off -site. It's
24:46
off -site. And it's also, even the people that
24:52
are coming to shelter, they are picked up from
24:57
somewhere else and brought to shelter. Because
24:59
we try to keep it that tight under locks because
25:03
people are dangerous and people will do whatever
25:06
they need to do sometimes to get to somebody.
25:08
And so, yeah, it's off -site. We lock and key
25:14
and codes and cameras and everything that we
25:17
can. And then residential services is a lot of
25:22
that work is done either in shelter with. survivors
25:27
that are trying to get housed from shelter um
25:30
and then others that so when you say in shelter
25:33
yeah you're talking about like if they're at
25:35
the Union Gospel Mission or uh other kind of
25:39
urine shelters that they have around town and
25:42
so right now our capacity has we've been really
25:46
bogged down so we're working directly with our
25:48
shelter right now only But there are cases that
25:51
if we have the capacity, we'll take it on and
25:54
say, okay, we will meet you where you're at if
25:57
that's what you need us to do and get going,
26:00
do an intake, do what we need to do. And a lot
26:03
of times those housing intakes can immediately
26:05
turn into a legal referral too, right? You know,
26:08
I need to get an apartment. I need to get away
26:11
from it. I have a prior eviction. I don't, they're
26:16
not going to let me. Let's pop you over to legal
26:18
and see what we can do about it. Sure. And get
26:20
them in that way too. Right on. Yeah. And to
26:23
that end with housing, do you work with coordinated
26:26
entry? Yes. So we have a specific, we have specific
26:30
funds for coordinated entry and a contract for
26:34
them. And we also have HUD and just generalized
26:37
funding as well. Now. In a previous interview
26:41
I did with the Family Support Center, we discussed
26:44
coordinated entry. Can you just give us a little
26:47
understanding of what that is again? Yeah, I
26:50
will do my best. Housing is one that I am, they
26:54
do so much. I'm like, how do you handle it all?
26:57
But it is a separate source of funding and you're
27:02
still working with us as Safe Place. We're still
27:05
going to get you. house as best we can but we're
27:10
using coordinated entry funds and then coordinated
27:13
entry processes so you have to do an intake with
27:17
safe place but also with coordinated entry and
27:20
we work closely with Family Support Center actually
27:23
to get them housed that route too we'll even
27:25
have FSC come into our shelter and work with
27:30
those that are using coordinated entry so it's
27:33
just a matter of who you're working with, and
27:35
if it's coordinated entry specifically, we have
27:38
FSC, we have a separate intake, but we're still
27:41
walking you through it, essentially. And there
27:44
are other organizations in Thurston County that
27:47
work with Coordinated Entry as well, besides
27:50
even just Family Support Center guys. So you're
27:53
going to be working with... those as well. Yep.
27:56
We work closest with Family Support Center because
27:59
we have a working relationship and we have ROIs,
28:03
Release Of Information, signed so we can work
28:06
together. But you can work with coordinated entry
28:08
in other places as well, including DSHS, which
28:12
is notoriously busy, but they have that option
28:15
too. Right on. That's good to know. And you have
28:18
a 24 -hour helpline. Yes. 24 hour, we mean it.
28:24
We have someone on that helpline all night, seven
28:27
days a week, holidays, someone's covering. So
28:30
if he needs to talk to somebody, we're there
28:33
to talk. As things are being switched around,
28:36
it might end up being that at night that helpline
28:41
is, you're calling our helpline number, it might
28:43
route to a different helpline. that has someone
28:47
manning it. We can only do so much sometimes.
28:50
And if we don't have staff, we want to make sure
28:52
that we're covered. And so at night, it might
28:54
go to this person over here and they'll say,
28:56
okay, great. We have your information or we can
29:00
help you right now. Anything else, like we'll
29:03
tell a safe place in the morning and they'll
29:06
get back to you. And so that helpline is resources,
29:10
screenings, legal screenings. Hey, I'm interested
29:14
in the DVSA group. Great. We'll get your information
29:17
for that. Housing referrals. We have right now,
29:22
I'm not sure moving forward, funds for relocation.
29:26
So if you're fleeing and you have a safe place
29:28
to go that's across the country, we'll get you
29:31
there. Like we will pay for it and we'll get
29:33
you there. Wow. That's amazing. Yeah. And we
29:36
do it quickly, very quickly. If we have the capacity.
29:39
We've had someone leave the night of. We've gotten
29:44
a call that said, I'm really trying to leave.
29:46
My partner's being released tonight and he's
29:49
the one who victimized me. I'd met someone in
29:52
the Target parking lot with gift cards and saying,
29:54
here's gift cards for food. Here's gas. I will
29:57
book you hotel each night that you go and we'll
30:01
get you there. And we've gotten them there in
30:03
three days or four days or however long it takes.
30:06
We do it. And that's funding dependent. So always
30:11
just calling the helpline too and saying, hey,
30:13
can you guys do relocations right now? We'll
30:16
let you know. We can or we can't, but if we can,
30:18
we will. Do it fast. Yeah. And your 24 -hour
30:22
helpline. So you said that it can route different
30:24
people. So I know that there are other organizations
30:29
that also offer a crisis helpline. And there
30:32
is the crisis clinic, actually, as well. And
30:36
BHR has a crisis line. Are they all connected?
30:42
Not quite. And so this is a new thing. We're
30:44
rolling out. We're trying to. sorted out with
30:47
other help like helplines and crisis lines like
30:50
can you support us during these hours especially
30:53
if someone's calling and it's 2 a .m and they
30:56
are in crisis we want to get you to the crisis
30:59
line because they're probably more equipped while
31:01
our advocates can de -escalate and support crisis
31:04
it's not our primary role whereas like crisis
31:07
lines have very specific training for that and
31:11
we might be a great help they might be even better
31:14
help So getting you to the right place as well.
31:17
So that's still up in the air. We're still working
31:19
on it, but trying to kind of weed out the needs
31:23
and make sure that you're not just reaching someone
31:26
that can help. You're reaching someone who is
31:28
specialized and can really help you get what
31:30
you need. You work with immigration and safety
31:42
planning, and then you also have just a general
31:45
safety plan. Yeah, general safety planning we
31:48
use all the time. Anyone we talk to that said,
31:51
I'm experiencing domestic violence, the first
31:53
thing we're going to want to do is safety plan
31:54
with you. Are you safe tonight? Here are things
31:57
you can do. We can map out a route for you to
31:59
get out of your house if we need to. You can
32:02
work out a system with your neighbor that you
32:05
can call your neighbor and they know. Things
32:07
like that. Safety planning and working in this
32:11
time. Politically, especially with ICE, it looks
32:15
a little different. Our hands can be tied, but
32:18
it doesn't mean we're not going to do anything.
32:20
And so what we're doing right now is working
32:21
very closely with our advocates and making sure
32:25
that we know the difference between search warrant
32:27
and arrest warrant. So if it's an arrest warrant,
32:31
we're not going to let you in. If you're asking
32:33
for names, we don't have to give you those names.
32:37
We've had someone, police officers, show up at
32:39
the shelter and say, we have an arrest warrant,
32:42
and we know they're in there. We're like, we
32:44
cannot disclose whether or not they're in here.
32:47
And if you have an arrest warrant, that's for
32:49
arrest only, so you're not coming in here. So
32:52
making sure that we're covering. And doing what
32:54
we can to protect at all times. And knowing,
32:57
like, they will push boundaries and say, no,
32:59
this is the law. And we can easily say, no, it's
33:01
not the law. And we're not going to do that right
33:04
now. Yeah. Yeah. ICE, Immigration and Customs
33:08
Enforcement. Yeah. Have y 'all ever had yet to
33:11
deal with anything involving ICE? Winx? Yeah.
33:15
We've seen. We've had. And this is, I hope it's
33:19
not too much to. disclosed but downtown olympia
33:22
we've had our advocates stopped and questioned
33:26
because of the color of their skin and question
33:29
having needing to provide their id so we know
33:34
they're around down here they're cruising around
33:37
and so we've i don't know that anyone's come
33:40
in the building yet but we've had funding orders
33:44
that have said yes we're going to give you a
33:46
lot more money if you send us a list Absolutely
33:50
not. We're not going to do that. So they're sneaking
33:53
in. They're trying to, but we're not playing.
33:56
Wow. It's sneaky, and that's why we're working.
33:59
We'll give you funding if you give us details
34:02
on people that we think we should arrest as ICE.
34:08
It's deep. Wow. And so just know for safe place,
34:11
and I'm sure every other nonprofit for that reason,
34:15
we're not. We're not falling for it. We know.
34:18
And we're taking the precautions and making sure
34:21
that we're being really careful. That's very
34:23
reassuring. It is. Because at the end of the
34:25
day, we're helping anybody. Like I said, not
34:28
just race or religion or ethnicity or anything
34:30
like that. Any status. Like we're going to help
34:33
you. We're going to do the best that we can.
34:36
Thank you for sharing that. That's very important.
34:39
Yeah. Along the lines of that, you do provide
34:43
services in Spanish. Yeah. Yep. If we don't have
34:47
someone on site that speaks Spanish, we have
34:51
interpreters that we can call over the phone.
34:53
We can make long term arrangements as well to
34:57
just you're going to need a Spanish speaking
34:59
advocate for quite some time. Let's see if we
35:01
can't even find an organization that is specific
35:05
to your community. Everyone speaks Spanish there
35:09
and they might offer the same exact services.
35:11
So that might be a really good fit for you. We're
35:15
always going to try to find a way to communicate.
35:17
We're always going to help. We have tons of different
35:19
languages that we can interpret via phone. Talk
35:30
about the client bill of rights that you have
35:32
on your website. Yes. So we read those to anyone
35:37
that calls, anyone we talk to. They've said,
35:40
well, we've already read our rights. Well, guess
35:41
what? We're going to have you sign them again
35:43
just so you know. And their rights to protect
35:46
us, they're also rights to protect them. So we're
35:49
letting them know you have the right to receive
35:52
services. You have the right to decline services
35:54
at any point. You can change your mind, say never
35:57
mind. You have the right to have protected information.
36:01
So we are not releasing your information to anybody
36:03
unless you sign paperwork to do so. We are mandated
36:08
reporters we put in there. You have the right
36:12
to access your file here. You can see anything
36:15
that we have here. It's your information. You
36:18
can see it. All sorts of things that are there
36:21
to protect survivors and let them know up front,
36:26
you have rights and we're telling you your rights.
36:29
Even if you need to engage in those rights. with
36:32
us right you know maybe there was a miscommunication
36:35
you have a right to say no thank you i'm not
36:38
telling you that and if it's an honest mistake
36:40
we're probably gonna you know swallow our tongue
36:44
oh my gosh i didn't even realize i i did that
36:47
um and so it also protects safe place um we are
36:52
mandated reporters we have to tell you that um
36:54
and so if we do have to make that call they are
36:57
aware that we're mandated reporters, things of
37:00
that nature. They're on our website and we read
37:02
them to everybody that calls. If they've called
37:06
before, we'll say, hey, have you called us before?
37:09
Yes. Do you want me to read you your client rights
37:11
again? They can say yes or no. Most of the time
37:15
they say no, but we're going to make sure that
37:17
you know they're there and we can get them to
37:19
you. That's very supportive. Thank you. So I've
37:23
noticed it shows up on every page of your website.
37:26
What is that little escape button? Yeah, that
37:30
escape button is in place for safety reasons.
37:36
We have a lot of survivors who are still living
37:40
with their abuser. They're still in danger every
37:43
day. And if they're actively trying to get out
37:47
of that situation, they're going to need to pull
37:49
up resources. And if phones are monitored or
37:53
someone's looking over your shoulder. If you
37:57
hit that escape button, it'll take you out of
37:59
our website and into Google. And that type of
38:03
software is rolling out very quickly right now
38:07
because we're realizing there's a need. There
38:09
are resources out there that have masks on them,
38:13
skins on them. And so what you're needing to
38:16
use is underneath, but you can quickly hit that
38:18
button and it pulls up a skin. that says this
38:21
is what you can see it's not what I'm using but
38:23
this is what you can see now does that wipe the
38:25
the browser history some apps it does this one
38:29
ours i don't believe it does oh some apps are
38:32
really sophisticated so this one it's just the
38:35
back button yeah okay because i go back okay
38:39
push that back button and you'll go back to the
38:41
safe place website yeah okay not all places are
38:45
like mostly apps have that really sophisticated
38:48
software That will do that. Or they'll use incognito.
38:53
Oh, yeah. Yep. So what is the process for getting
38:59
services? We, like in the hospitals, we're there
39:05
and we're telling you we're there and we have
39:07
these services if you want them. Some people
39:10
know word of mouth, like, oh, I'm going to go
39:13
check this place out. You can walk in and receive
39:15
services. That's something really great. that
39:18
we have available to. It's not a closed office.
39:20
Okay. And then calling that helpline too, saying,
39:24
I really need these things. Let's put in a referral.
39:26
You can self -refer and we'll get you there,
39:28
as well as other agencies that can tell you that
39:32
we're here too. So it's not like you've got to
39:34
fill out this paperwork in intake form and we'll
39:38
get back to you and make an appointment, talk
39:40
about what your needs are. straight out the door,
39:44
get right off, right off the cuff. We're going
39:47
to talk about it. What are your needs right now?
39:49
I don't need to tell you my entire backstory.
39:52
I don't need to tell you, you know, here's my
39:56
date of birth and my phone number and, you know,
39:58
all the million things that you might have to
40:01
provide other. other organizations to receive
40:05
services. It's just right now. Let's go. The
40:08
only time we'll ask that identifying information
40:11
if they're ready to share or want to share is
40:13
if we're trying to relocate them right away or
40:16
we're trying to screen them into shelter to see
40:20
do they qualify. this will need to call you back
40:24
right um and so um those are really the only
40:28
times and unless you choose to divulge that information
40:31
you don't have to tell us anything it's confidential
40:34
you know we're not gonna try to call you back
40:37
especially if we don't know that it's safe things
40:40
like that okay What kind of barriers have you
40:52
experienced people having coming to you? Yeah.
40:57
One of the biggest barriers that we have outside
41:01
of just experiencing domestic violence is a barrier
41:04
to getting help is a lot of the population that
41:07
we help struggle with addiction or they've been
41:12
drug affected. One of the most vulnerable populations
41:16
for receiving or being on the receiving end of
41:19
domestic violence is people with disabilities
41:22
as well. And so those are huge barriers. We can't
41:26
really get consent if you're under the influence
41:28
to protect you as well, because we want to make
41:33
sure you're understanding what we're here for.
41:35
And sometimes it's hard to help somebody who
41:39
comes in under the influence because we just
41:41
don't understand their needs. But that is one
41:46
of our biggest barriers. We want to help. We're
41:48
not here to judge if you use drugs or alcohol.
41:52
So a criteria to receive services is not being
41:58
under the influence. In that moment. In that
42:01
moment. Okay, so if someone is using, whatever
42:06
substance right but in that time that they're
42:11
coming to you yeah they need to be sober not
42:14
necessarily clean no but sober no and we really
42:18
understand that um self -soothing and self -healing
42:24
and struggling with trauma leads to addiction
42:29
a lot of the time if you don't have resources
42:31
and we know that everybody copes and everybody
42:34
copes in their own way and we're not here to
42:36
judge you for that that's not that's not what
42:38
it's about but we do need to make sure that you're
42:41
understanding and we can get those signatures
42:43
and there um we can use them because if somebody
42:48
doesn't understand what they're signing or they
42:50
seem as though they can't make their own decisions
42:52
if we have a disability perhaps, then we have
42:56
to make sure we can go about it. Maybe we'll
42:58
try again tomorrow. Maybe we'll reach out and
43:01
see, like, can we talk to someone in your family?
43:05
Will you sign a paper that says, yes, I can talk
43:08
to somebody? So try to do our best. But to engage
43:11
in services, you have to be able to have moments
43:14
where you're sober and really take, you have
43:17
to be active and engaged in the process. Now,
43:20
this is more of a nuanced, more situational question,
43:24
but situations like this can come up where you
43:29
have, for an example, someone who has been a
43:33
heavy meth user, for example, and that does,
43:37
even if the person is not currently under the
43:40
influence, that does create changes in... brain
43:47
structure which can make communication and thought
43:51
processes difficult to be coherent in their delivery
43:58
of that um and so how do you discern how do have
44:03
the same place discern when someone of that you
44:08
know disposition is wanting to communicate and
44:11
say, I am not currently on math. Yes. Yes. But
44:16
are still having a hard time articulating. And
44:18
so a person who may not be as familiar might
44:23
assume that they're lying. Yeah. So how do you
44:27
navigate? How do you discern those situations?
44:37
One of the biggest symptoms that we see of somebody
44:40
who is permanently or chronically affected is
44:45
paranoia. Very heavy paranoia. And mind you,
44:50
this isn't specifically a meth user as an example.
44:53
Anybody. This can also happen with people who
44:57
have been in alcoholism for a long time, for
45:00
example. Yep. physically clouded or change their
45:04
brain structure like you were saying and so they're
45:07
programmed unintentionally and not even it's
45:12
implicitly experiencing these things or they've
45:15
it's blocked their cognitive functioning abilities
45:17
permanently sometimes and so we use our judgment
45:22
personal judgment we also we'll pull other advocates
45:28
or people in the office to come talk with us
45:30
to get an So we can corroborate and talk about
45:34
it a little bit more. And there's sometimes.
45:36
Like, this is what I think. What do you think?
45:38
Everybody has different experiences and knowledge
45:41
and understanding. Yep. And a lot of times when
45:44
someone's coming in in that position, the first
45:47
thing I'm going to do is if they're incredibly
45:50
drug affected and they're struggling to remain,
45:53
like they just can't take care of themselves
45:55
or they really need help. I really try to reach
45:59
out to like behavioral health if they consent
46:02
to that. There's sometimes that we've had somebody
46:05
or multiple somebody's come in that are so heavily
46:09
drug affected that we've had to call help. And
46:14
it's a program called crew. So they come in specifically
46:16
their crisis response and they help. What's it
46:19
called? Crew. So see our crisis response unit.
46:24
Olympia has their own. Okay. And so we'll call
46:27
them and say, we really don't know that they're
46:29
aware of where they are or that they're okay
46:33
or we can't really get through to them and they're
46:35
acting erratically, things like this. The first
46:38
thing that we're going to do is try to get them
46:40
grounded. And sometimes that means getting other
46:43
agencies involved. It has through their own consent?
46:48
Yep. Sometimes crew. It's like calling 911 in
46:53
a sense. We can call and they can come and make
46:56
a judgment call. Kind of like 911 showing up
46:59
like this person clearly has a wound and it needs
47:03
to be treated. And so that might mean that if
47:07
they're unconscious, we're still taking them,
47:09
you know. But after that, like with crew, sometimes
47:12
they'll end up in behavioral health and they
47:14
will put a hold. just for their own safety at
47:17
behavioral health or at a hospital. We're putting
47:20
a hold to see if we can't help you get to where
47:23
you need to be. And then we'll move in for services
47:25
if we can get them where they need to be. Okay.
47:28
So that means putting a hold on accessing services
47:31
with you while they're moving through this process
47:35
of services with, for example, behavioral health.
47:38
Yep. And sometimes even being brought to the
47:41
hospital, they will not even, They will not release
47:46
for 72 hours or longer. And they will not let
47:49
people in to speak with them for 72 hours. It's
47:53
almost like a detox period where they can truly
47:55
assess where that person's at and make sure that
47:58
they're safe from themselves. And judgment as
48:02
am I able to see that I'm safe from others too.
48:06
Yeah. Okay. There's a space that says trainings
48:20
on the website. You offer trainings. What is
48:24
that? Yeah, so sometimes we host trainings just
48:27
as our building is hosting it, but we're not
48:30
putting it on. So we'll post there if something's
48:33
happening. We do offer right now ACT training,
48:37
which is required for any advocate in Washington
48:39
State. ACT, A -C -T, Advocate Core Training.
48:43
You're going to work as an advocate. In Washington
48:46
State, you need that training. And so we train
48:49
our own advocates. We also open it up. So if
48:51
you need to be ACT trained or you want to be,
48:54
you can come do that here. And so we've done
48:58
self -defense classes. We've offered those and
49:00
people can come and pay discounted rate and do
49:05
those trainings. I've developed trainings. Other
49:08
staff members have specialized trainings that
49:10
they can come and enjoy. So it's just where we
49:13
keep it. updated and posted yeah actually i interviewed
49:17
peer Olympia and they also do uh trainings as
49:20
well advocacy trainings what are the differences
49:23
between uh yours and Peer Olympia's if you know
49:25
yeah so we are our program is not only domestic
49:30
violence but it's sexual assault so that determines
49:33
the requirements and so if you're applying for
49:36
a sexual assault um position elsewhere, you have
49:43
to have those sexual assault hours too. And so
49:46
ours have merged to make sure we're meeting all
49:48
the requirements for domestic violence and sexual
49:51
assault. Okay. So there's a difference in specialty.
49:56
Yeah. Okay. Having both never hurts at all. Yeah,
50:00
for sure. Cover all bases. Yes. But if you're
50:02
working for an SA specific program, you need
50:05
those hours. Okay. Okay. Renting the East Wing
50:17
is a meeting space. Talk about the East Wing.
50:21
Yeah, we have this essentially small conference
50:24
room. We do our big meetings in there, trainings.
50:27
I did an artist walk back a couple months and
50:32
I hosted in there for community to come in and
50:34
see art and do art. I've done movie screenings
50:37
in there. And so it's just a space. If you have
50:40
a large... meeting that you need to hold call
50:43
us and we'll see if we can book it for you it's
50:46
really just a simple phone call and saying hey
50:47
like we'd like to do this can we use your space
50:50
you can go and look at the website yeah yeah
50:53
and then you have contact form yeah i'd always
50:56
um that's why i say like call and ask those questions
51:00
because we work with different organizations
51:03
in different ways and so you can fill it out
51:07
on there but also just call and see like I'm
51:10
going to fill it out and I'd like to do this
51:12
on this date. Do you even have availability on
51:15
that date? Right. Yep. Your best bet for this,
51:17
something like this would be not to call the
51:19
helpline, but to call our business office, which
51:22
is also on our website. Yeah. So I noticed that
51:36
you have in your news and events on your website,
51:40
you have a soiree coming up in September, September
51:43
27th. Yes, that is our gala. We do it every year.
51:48
It's one of our biggest fundraising events. We
51:51
invite. People in the community are partners.
51:55
They can purchase tickets to come in, which all
51:57
goes right back to Safe Place. It's really fundraising
52:01
and networking to try to gain other partnerships
52:05
as well, because we are nonprofit and we don't
52:09
have a lot of funds. So sometimes we have to
52:11
do. events or ways to raise money and this is
52:14
a really fun one to put on and people get really
52:17
excited about it and they just want to be there
52:20
what's fun about it it's um formal so people
52:24
can come up there's dinner provided there's good
52:27
like conversations and just we do our best to
52:29
make sure everyone's entertained sometimes they'll
52:32
have different things happening at each gala
52:34
so this time as it's planning we're not sure
52:36
what's exact we don't have an exact itinerary
52:39
right now But we're really like reading our crowd
52:42
and seeing like this person would really love
52:45
to or this person might really love to see this
52:48
organization come and speak or come and engage
52:53
with us. Let's reach out to them. So it's just
52:56
a really cool night to help your community, but
52:59
also dress up and have a nice dinner and spend
53:03
time with people who are also like -minded too.
53:14
Oh, cool. How can people get involved? Volunteering?
53:19
Are you hiring? How do people donate? Join the
53:23
board? Yeah, the first step is check out our
53:27
website. There's always links to donate or lists
53:30
of things that we'll need. You can also call
53:33
the helpline and see like, hey, do you guys need
53:37
anything right now? How do I come in and actually
53:39
volunteer? we do have spots for interns to come
53:43
in and then for hiring our postings always go
53:46
on indeed and glass door and so if you're on
53:50
there if you just search safe place search advocate
53:53
we should pop up and we'll also post there if
53:56
we need volunteers or board members that are
53:59
volunteers And we'll post opportunities there
54:03
for interns. What are some things that a volunteering
54:07
board member could do? Yeah, so our board, they
54:12
obviously oversee Safe Place, and they're making
54:15
those really generalized decisions on behalf
54:18
of Safe Place. And so they would be interviewed,
54:23
and then they'd go through training to make sure
54:27
that they're... have a good understanding of
54:29
what we do and who we work with. And then their
54:32
job is to just really engage in those big decisions
54:35
and meeting very regularly to just discuss how
54:39
things are going and make sure that if a shift
54:42
needs to happen, then we're going to make that
54:44
happen. And so we like board members who are
54:46
strategic, but we also like board members who
54:49
have a lot of experience in this field that are
54:53
creative thinkers, things like that, just collecting
54:55
a really good. hive mind to be able to support
54:59
us. Is there anything else you would like to
55:11
share? Yeah, I mean, Safe Place does a ton of
55:17
really wonderful things and they've been around
55:19
for a long time. But one thing we really want
55:22
to note right now is that these are really hard
55:25
times. politically and so many things are changing
55:29
and happening and just knowing that we're standing
55:32
strong in our mission and our values and while
55:36
sometimes things may have to shift because it's
55:40
mandated we're still gonna do what we believe
55:43
is right and so we're here we're for everybody
55:46
we're for anybody and we just want to help in
55:50
any way that we can really yeah all right Thank
55:54
you so much, Kayla. Yeah, thank you. I'm so glad
56:04
I got to sit down with Kayla to get all the nuanced
56:07
details about all that Safe Place has to offer.
56:10
Safe Place is located at 521 Legion Way Southeast
56:15
in downtown Olympia, and their lobby is open
56:19
Monday through Thursday from 9 a .m. to noon,
56:22
then from 1 to 5 p .m., and they are closed Friday,
56:26
Saturday, and Sunday. 8754 and their 24 -hour
56:37
hotline at 360 -754 -6300 and for TTY service
56:44
the number is 711. You can also shoot them an
56:48
email through either safeplace@safeplaceolympia
56:52
.org or confidential@safeplace .org. Drop
56:57
-ins are on Mondays from 9 a .m. to 11 .30 a
57:01
.m. and from 1 to 4 .30 p .m. Sound Legal Aid
57:06
is available typically the 1st and 3rd Thursday
57:08
of every month, but please make sure you check
57:11
the website to confirm. SafePlace is also one
57:15
of our resource reports. zine distro locations.
57:25
That's it for today's resource report produced
57:28
by Pathways to Agency. Pathways to Agency, we
57:32
are driven by the belief that everyone should
57:34
have the tools and support to achieve their goals
57:37
and thrive in their communities. Our mission
57:40
is to bridge the gaps in understanding, accessibility,
57:43
and trust by connecting individuals to resources
57:47
and sharing information and processes that can
57:51
lead to personal and community growth. Resource
57:55
Report offers information about existing and
57:58
emerging nonprofits and resource organizations.
58:01
Find out more at pathwaystoagency.org. You can
58:06
also find our shows archived indefinitely on
58:10
rss.com/podcasts/resource-
58:17
report. KAOS Radio is not responsible or liable
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for any views or opinions expressed in the interviews
58:25
conducted by Resource Report. Till next time,
58:28
and thanks for listening.