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Community Corner

Focus on Teens and Child Abuse: How the Gwinnett Children's Shelter Helps

Did you know that Publix grocery stories, libraries and QuikTrip stations in Gwinnett County are designated as "Safe Place" locations? These are designated places for children in danger to go seek help.

Wellspring Living is an Atlanta-area agency that runs three restorative homes to provide therapy, counseling, life skills training, education and a fresh start for young women and girls who have been sexually abused or trafficked. 

They have helped 72 girls 12 to 17 since 2008.  Wellspring’s website discusses two facts that are shocking, but also motivating:

"Ninety percent of runaways end up in the sex trade within 72 hours."

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"Seven years is the average life expectancy of a girl in forced prostitution."

We must do all we can to prevent runaways. We must communicate safe options for middle school and high school kids and their parents for those times when the kids feel overwhelmed in their interactions with parents, school, and friends or within themselves.

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Youth may know that running away is only a temporary solution, but they are desperately seeking immediate relief.

Safe Place Tips to Help Adults Help Teens

The Gwinnett Children’s Shelter participates in the national Safe Place program. Most middle-school students hear about the "Safe Place" program in Gwinnett County middle schools. They learn that "Safe Places" display a logo, and that the young people can go there when in crisis. 

There are 94 "Safe Place" sites in Gwinnett; for example, all Publix grocery stores, public libraries, and QuikTrips are "Safe Place" sites. When the youths arrive at the Safe Place the employees call the shelter and a trained volunteer picks up the teen within about 20 minutes. Once the youth is at the safe house, parents would be contacted unless there is a complaint of sexual abuse or physical violence; in abuse situations the call would be to the Department of Family and Children Services. 

The next step is the availability of counseling to diffuse the tension and help the family begin to try to work out their problems. The Gwinnett County shelter offers a structured, safe environment to provide the stability teens in crisis need to begin to feel that life can be different. The average stay is about six months.

Although the "Safe Place" program is strictly a youth initiated program, it is also possible for the parent or guardian to request help for a 12 to 17 year old in crisis. A parent of guardian can contact the Gwinnett County shelter, and if the teen and the parents are willing to agree to work on their problems, the Gwinnett County shelter will provide a 21-day cooling off period (if there is space available).

During the cooling off period he/she receive ongoing individual and group therapy, recreation and life skills. Parents also have to agree to attend at least three family therapy sessions while the teen is at the shelter. It is not unusual for these teens to be experiencing depression, suicidal thoughts, and substance abuse issues. The shelter professionals work with the family to receive free recommended therapy once the stay at the shelter is over.

Wellspring posits that sex trafficking is a $32 billion dollars business; the bad guys are motivated. We as a community need to get fired up, and do everything we can to reduce the number of our youth caught in its trap by offering a way to get out of a situation and into a place that will help instead of exploiting teens in crisis. 

We can support the Gwinnett Children’s Shelter as a volunteer, by providing in kind and financial donations, and by sharing this information so the families whose life we touch know that help is available for young people in crisis is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days a year.  

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  • Because the human trafficking machine is still running strong, we also need to support the work of Wellspring Living to help the girls and women who got caught in its trap. Check out Wellspring's website at: https://wellspringliving.org.

(SOURCE: The information in this article has been taken from an interview with the Gwinnett Children’s Shelter, and Safe Place and CGS pamphlets and documentation. It has been reviewed and approved by GCS.)

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