Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Plan Offers Refuge to Schoolchildren on Foot

Officials from the city and Santa Clarita Valley sheriff’s office on Monday unveiled a program designed to provide safe havens for children on their way to and from school.

Called the Safe House Program, the idea is to place green triangle symbols in certain houses throughout the city--signals to children that they can seek refuge there if they sense trouble.

“We want it to be like a home alarm system,” said Deputy Tom Drake, who coordinated the program with Santa Clarita elementary schools. “You have it there ready, and hopefully you’ll never have to use it.”

Participating homes and businesses will be marked with fluorescent green triangles, signifying there is a volunteer present to help in an emergency. A second triangle is painted on the curb, and each site is kept on file with the sheriff’s station.

Seven Santa Clarita elementary schools have signed up so far, and 30 residents, mostly from the Canyon Country community where planning efforts began, have asked to take part.

Volunteers undergo a background check and are provided with basic instructions about when to call either 911 or the sheriff’s station. Deputies also contact their references and visit the neighborhood to make sure each safe house is reliable.

“What I like about it is that it has built-in safeguards,” said Mayor George Pederson. “It’s not just volunteers who say, ‘My house is OK.’ ”

Pederson, a law enforcement officer himself before retiring, said the program sends out a good message about Santa Clarita.

Plans for the Safe House Program began with the efforts of Karin Nelson, a Canyon Country resident who has a 6-year-old daughter and an 8-year-old son.

“Originally my program was for people, if they happened to be home at the time, to just go out on their porch,” Nelson said. “I think we need to have kids supervised all the way as they walk to school. That’s the ideal.”

Nelson said such a program is important, even in Santa Clarita, which has a reputation as a safe city. She became involved after reading about the kidnaping-related deaths of 8-year-old Nicole Parker in the San Fernando Valley and 12-year-old Polly Klaas in Petaluma, both late last year.

“People have to decide they’re not going to let this happen,” Nelson said.

Students will learn about the Safe House Program and its green triangles at assemblies throughout the school year.

In recent weeks, the sheriff’s station received two reports of suspicious activity by an adult near an elementary school, although no arrests were made.

Organizers are now focusing on getting safe-house sites along walking routes to and from elementary schools, but eventually want green triangles throughout the city.

“Ideally, one per block would be a good goal,” said Sgt. Bob Warford.

Information about volunteering for the Safe House Program is available by calling (805) 255-1121.