THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 7, 1995 TAG: 9505050285
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 16 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY NANCY LEWIS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Long : 178 lines
IT WAS A COLD, BLUSTERY DAY about four years ago when Virginia Beach Master Firefighter Ricky Woods spotted three small children walking along the edge of busy Lynnhaven Parkway.
One of them - a 2-year-old - wore only a diaper and T-shirt. His 4- and 5-year-old brother and sister also were scantily dressed. The outside temperature was 30 degrees, but the wind-chill factor made it more like 20, remembers Woods.
Woods, 42, didn't hesitate to intervene. He loaded the children into his car and took them to his base station - Green Run No. 18. The three youngsters were soon reunited with their mother.
For Woods, though, the story didn't end there.
Helping the three wandering kids planted the seed of an altruistic idea in Woods' mind. During the next year or so, it would germinate and grow, nurtured by two similar incidents. Thanks to Woods' efforts, Virginia Beach firefighters' generous arms are now opened even wider to their community.
Woods' vision culminated this February in the designation of all 18 Virginia Beach fire stations as ``safe places,'' where people in crisis can take temporary refuge and find help through Project Safe Place counselors.
``I saw the need for it and thought it was a good way for us to give back to the community,'' said Woods, whose eyes sparkle as he recalls the joy of lending a needed hand.
The preschool trio Woods helped had been left home alone and had set out in search of their mother.
Police returned the children safely to their mother, but warned her not to leave the children unattended in the future. The mother was angry that police had become involved, but the public-spirited Woods didn't let that dissuade him from stepping into other situations where intervention was clearly called for.
``I didn't care,'' remembers Woods, who now works out of the Little Neck fire station. ``I said, `I'm doing it anyway.' ''
Though there are many other Safe Place sites scattered throughout the city - libraries, banks and private businesses - the fire stations offer the advantage of being open 24 hours a day.
The stations are networked with Project Safe Place of Hampton Roads, an organization whose 50 volunteer counselors respond to crisis calls around the clock.
The effectiveness of the Safe Place hotline is something one Virginia Beach woman has no doubt about. Now 19 and married, the woman - who asked that her real name not be used - was 17 and was being beaten and sexually abused by her stepfather when she turned to a Safe Place for help.
Ellen left home one night when she ``just couldn't handle it anymore.''
``He would push me up against the wall, tell me how to wear my hair, wouldn't let me go out,'' Ellen recalls. ``He looked at me more than he did my mother. She'd just go upstairs and close her bedroom door.''
When she walked out of the family home two years ago, Ellen had no idea where she was going. ``I was just wandering,'' she remembers. ``I had heard about Safe Place and seen the signs.''
As she passed a Domino's Pizza store, Ellen saw the familiar diamond-shaped yellow and black sign and took a step that changed her life.
A store employee made the call to the Safe Place hotline and soon a counselor was with Ellen.
``She was caring enough to take the extra time,'' Ellen remembers.
After a long talk at Domino's, the counselor made a call to Child Protective Services and arrangements were made for Ellen to spend the night elsewhere.
The next day, the agency referred the family for counseling sessions that would continue for seven months.
``It got my family back together,'' says Ellen. ``I got to let it all out, my mother didn't block it and my stepfather said he was wrong and didn't realize it.
``Telling the story to someone who can relate is the first step,'' Ellen says. She wants others to know that Safe Place can help.
``I believe in telling the story. I don't want someone to go through all those years and think they're the only one.''
Now, firefighters, too, act as a link between troubled teens and Safe Place counselors. The connection is a natural one, explained Woods.
``We're there during the sad times, not the happy times,'' he said, referring to the fires, accidents and other emergencies handled by firemen daily. ``It's no birthday party. We always have to deal with people in a time of crisis.''
When a call for a help comes in, a Safe Place counselor of the same sex as the person in crisis responds, explained Ben Fuller, Safe Place project director.
``Fire stations provide an excellent link into the community,'' said Fuller. ``Kids learn that it's safe to trust firefighters in school.''
Since the project began in 1989, more than 200 people in crisis have asked for, and gotten, help from Safe Place, Fuller said.
Norfolk, too, is part of the project, with fire stations as well as many of its businesses and city facilities already designated. All sites display a brightly colored logo.
Bill Powell, another fireman at the Little Neck station, said that having counselors intervene with troubled kids is a real advantage.
``They already feel so confined,'' said Powell. ``They think they're in big trouble'' when police are called, but ``with the counselors, they're more relaxed.''
Powell is impressed with the Safe Place involvement. The case that stands out in his mind is the teenage girl who came to the station three times in one week. She was involved in a family dispute, which was eventually mediated by Safe Place counselors.
Though the project was instituted primarily to help troubled teenagers and children trying to escape abusive situations at home, hotline counselors are trained to deal with almost any situation, including battered women.
Since the firefighters' involvement officially began in February, about a dozen teenagers - all girls - have taken refuge at fire stations in Virginia Beach. Woods said no boys have asked for help probably because of their ``macho'' attitude.
Woods ``talks'' with his hands, emphasizing the importance of the experiences and bringing them to life.
The gregarious father of three has been a professional firefighter for nearly 20 years. He started as a volunteer fireman when he was 15. He vividly recalls the second time his humanitarian efforts reaped rewards for a troubled youngster:
It was about three years ago, at 4 o'clock in the morning. Firemen at the Green Run station, Woods among them, had just returned from a fire call. Woods was headed for the back door of the station when he saw a teenage girl curled up asleep on its sill.
The 14-year-old had run away from home following a family dispute, Woods learned after waking her. He brought her inside and phoned police. But responding police officers were in a quandary. ``They didn't know what to do for her either,'' remembers Woods.
The girl's story, too, had a happy ending, for police returned her to her parents after mediating the situation. But the incident left Woods even more convinced that fire stations might serve as links in a help network for people in crisis. ILLUSTRATION: [Cover]
HOUSES OF REFUGE
[Color Photo]
Staff photos by CHARLIE MEADS
Bill Powell, a master firefighter at the Little Neck Station, said
that having counselors intervene with troubled kids keeps them more
relaxed. ``They think they're in big trouble'' when police are
called, he said.
Master firefighter Ricky Woods found three wandering pre-schoolers,
brought them to the station and, with the help of police, had them
reunited with their mother. The incident eventually led Woods to
push for fire stations, which are open 24 hours a day, to become
part of Project Safe Place.
Staff photo by
CHARLIE MEADS
SAFE PLACES: In addition to all city fire stations, other designated
Safe Place sites in Virginia Beach are:
Domino's Pizza
Tan-Fast-Tik
City recreation centers
Chick-Fil-A
Burger King
City libraries
Virginia Beach General Hospital
Va. Beach Federal Savings Bank
Beach Tans
McDonald's
Images Unlimited
Arnhold Marketing
Realty Consultants
Naval Air Federal
Class Act Kids and Teens
Henry-Hanson-Tucker Realty
17th Street Surf Shop
Artcraft Printing Ltd.
Runaway Bay
First Virginia Bank
Reflections
HOW TO HELP
Safe Place of Hampton Roads is funded by United Way of South Hampton
Roads. Volunteers are needed as are Safe Place sites. Call 431-2627
or write: P.O. Box 3531, Virginia Beach, 23454.
by CNB