October 12, 2018—The Excelsior Springs Community Center will soon be designated a Safe Place, where area youth can obtain help in times of need.
Community Center Director Jesse Hall said they will help coordinate resources for area youth needing help with any issues arising in their lives.
“(Staff) will coordinate with Synergy, Excelsior Springs School District. Excelsior Springs Ministerial Alliance, ESPD, Clay County/Ray County Juvenile/Social Services and many others to get the word out for those in need of a Safe Place.”
Timothy Schouten, Safe Place coordinator with Synergy Services, said a Safe Place will have the resources to help youths that feel neglected or abused. He said staff can also help provide resources for homeless youths as well.
According to their website, Synergy Services takes action to create a community free of family violence. They provide hotlines and advocates, shelter, counseling empowerment and prevention.
“We help families in crisis,” the website states. “Through a variety of programs designed to work together, we heal trauma and build resilience in individuals to create strong families and safe communities.”
More information can be obtained at synergyservices.org.
Youths can approach any Safe Place who will contact Synergy. A responder from Synergy will come to speak with the youth to determine how best to assist. The responder could set up family counseling or help one suffering from abuse find help.
Schouten said the community center reached out to obtain help for a teen. He said this designation could be important to help those in need. The community center and Synergy can also work with other organizations within the Excelsior Springs community for help. Other Safe Places in Excelsior include the Mid-Continent Public Library and The Good Samaritan Center.
Martha Buckman, executive director of The Good Samaritan Center, said while their facility helps to provide help for youths in the downtown area, the doors close early in the evening. She said the community center can, not only provide help for those in the area but offer longer staffed times for youths to obtain help later in the evening.
Youth and Family Manager Marie Mawby will act as co-facilitator for the community center’s Safe Place program with husband Robert Mawby, property manager. She said she believes the community center staff already develops a great rapport with school-aged children who already come to the center. This rapport, she said, already helps area youth feel comfortable speaking with her and Robert.
If a child requests a Safe Place, Marie Mawby said staff will contact Synergy to request assistance. She said they can also work with Larry Block, clergy for The City, and school counselors.
She said she believes all children deserve a place to turn in their times of need. Community center staff look forward to taking an active role in helping the youths of the community, she said.
“In my experience, children and families are more likely to seek assistance in places that they frequent,” she said. “Places that are non-discriminatory and have familiar faces, all of which describes our community center.”
Robert Mawby said he grew up as a troubled kid in Excelsior Springs. He said he looks forward to the chance to give back. The community center would have provided activities and mentors who would have helped him in his youth.
Marie Mawby said she truly cares about the kids who come to the center. She said she wants to give area youth a place to come with familiar faces. Marie Mawby said she hopes to show the youth someone who cares about them.
“It’s not just a job for me,” she said.