Residents Encouraged To Apply For Keep Safe Card As Scheme Celebrates 10th Birthday
A scheme run by Derbyshire County Council which aims to keep people safe when out and about is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.
The Safe Place scheme gives people somewhere safe to go if they’re out in the community and feel threatened, anxious or unwell.
Since it launched, more than 220 businesses, organisations and community spaces around the county have signed up.
Around 1,500 people are carrying a Keep Safe card in Derbyshire – helping them feel more confident in their communities and retain their independence for as long as possible.
The Keep Safe card contains all of their information, including emergency contact details, so that staff at Safe Places can help them or call someone to help.
Derbyshire County Council Cabinet Member for Adult Care Councillor Jean Wharmby said:
“It’s brilliant to see more and more community-minded places opening up their doors and agreeing to sign up to be a Safe Place.
“The fact that the scheme has not only lasted so long, but has thrived and grown so much is testament to how highly it’s regarded in the community.
“I’m delighted to be able to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Safe Places and can’t wait to see what the future holds for the project.”
First launched in 2009, the scheme was originally developed exclusively to help adults with a learning disability feel safer and more comfortable while away from home.
Since then, Safe Places has come on leaps and bounds – extending the support it offers to anyone who feels like they might need help or advice when out in the community.
Any building can be used as a Safe Place – including shops, libraries, GP surgeries, pharmacies and other public buildings.
In the last 12 months alone, more than 55 businesses and organisations have signed up.
The latest business to become a Safe Place is community-owned café The Spotted Calf and Post Office in Holbrook, on the outskirts of Belper.
Liz Swift, part of the Holbrook Community Society who own the cafe said signing up was all about keeping community ties and values close to heart.
She added: “ We are here for the community and becoming a Safe Place links in with everything we do. Lots of people visit us from all walks of life so it is good to be part of the scheme.”
The council’s Safe Places team have also secured an agreement with all Citizen Advice Bureaus (CABs) in Derbyshire – meaning all CAB locations in the county are now recognised Safe Places.
They’ve also gone out of their way to make sure that each of the eight districts and boroughs in the county has a healthy number of Safe Places, so more people can benefit.
Safe Places is part of the county council’s Hate Crime, Staying Safe project – run in partnership with national learning disability charity, MacIntyre and Derbyshire police.
To find out more about the scheme, sign up for a Keep Safe card or sign up to become a Safe Place go to www.derbyshire.gov.uk/SafePlaces
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