May is Supervised Visitation Awareness Month and A Safe Place invites you to wear orange on May 16 to show your support for safe visits for children. Ribbons are available at 5B Windy Way.
Did you know that A Safe Place offers in-person and virtual supervised visitation and neutral exchange opportunities overseen by a trained supervised visitation advocate? In prioritizing child safety while maintaining parental relationships, typically in cases where child welfare concerns exist, supervised visitation allows non-custodial parents to stay connected to their children while the issues that led to loss of custody are resolved. A Safe Place’s supervised visitation provides a secure and comfortable environment for children to maintain a relationship with both parents while attempting to isolate them from conflict. Advocates follow strict standards of practice and ethics outlined by the Supervised Visitation Network. This is a free program available within the Nantucket community.
Our supervised visitation program offers two basic types of service:
-The provision of a neutral environment for custody exchanges that prevents direct contact between parents/guardians.
-The supervision of an entire visit between a child and a non-custodial parent or relative, where they can interact in a comfortable playroom setting while the visit is monitored by trained staff and on-site security.
For more information on this program, please reach out to Crystal Mautner at crystal@asafeplacenantucket.org.
A Safe Place’s Supervised Visitation Program Manager, Crystal Mautner, attended the Massachusetts Coalition for Supervised Visitation’s annual training this past April. The training, presented by The United Arc, focused on supporting and working with parents with intellectual/developmental disabilities.
Thank you to all who showed support for our mission via this year’s tenth annual Walk A Mile For A Safe Place. Video credit: A Safe Place Bilingual Advocate, Stan Hope.
A Safe Place’s Tania Pereira (Bilingual Advocate) and Nancy Rappaport (Trauma Therapist) recently attended the End Violence Against Women International (EVAWI) 2024 International Conference on Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, and the Cycle of Justice in San Diego, California.
This unique opportunity connected law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, advocates, health care workers, faith leaders, and educators with experts to discuss the latest in research, policies, and best practices to end gender-based violence.
Among the focus were trauma’s impact on survivors, innovative criminal justice responses, and the latest advances in prevention and intervention.
Denim Day 2024
Youth Outreach & Prevention
During Sexual Assault Awareness Month (S.A.A.M.) in April, A Safe Place’s Frejae Burrows (DV & SA Program Manager) and Rachel Larson Devine (Director of Development) created a sidewalk chalk mural at the front entrance of Nantucket High School in an effort to bring continued awareness and engage students to have the conversations.
Nantucket High School’s newspaper, Veritas, featured an article about keynote speaker April Hernandez Castillo in their most recent issue. The article was written by Associate Editor Joan Harris.
During Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month this past February, A Safe Place hosted April at Nantucket High School as part of our youth prevention and outreach initiatives.
A special thank you to Nantucket Golf Club Foundation for helping to make this event possible.
Nantucket Boys & Girls Club members participated in A Safe Place’s annual Safe Home Project during the first week of April. This creative outlet based activity is designed to help children learn about healthy relationships, non-violence, and respect for others while creating homes via the use of artistic models.
A Safe Place’s annual Safety Cape Project wrapped up the last week of April at the Nantucket Boys & Girls Club. While learning about safety and surroundings, Nantucket Boys & Girls Club members created superhero capes using imagination, out of the box thinking, and personal creativity. An important part of our A Safe Place mission is to connect to island youth in ways that reduce risk and help prevent abusive behavior from occurring.
Community Connection
A Safe Place’s Clothesline Project was displayed at the Atheneum Garden from 9 AM to 12 PM on the Saturday of the Nantucket Daffodil Festival.
The Clothesline Project is a visual display of shirts created by local survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence (or those who have lost a loved one to violence). The project brings awareness to the often-ignored issues of sexual assault and domestic violence, while giving survivors an opportunity to send a strong message within our community that sexual assault and domestic violence do happen here.
While these topics are difficult to talk about, it is necessary that we do. Thank you to everyone who took the time to say hello and show support for local survivors by reading pieces of their stories. Never underestimate the power of connection.
A Safe Place invites you to an evening with guest speaker Katie Koestner on Thursday, July 11, 2024 at Great Harbor Yacht Club.
Katie Koestner was on the cover of Time Magazine at age eighteen as the first woman in history to speak out nationally and publicly as the victim of “date” rape.
Katie has been featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show, NBC Nightly News, CNBC Talk Live, CNN, Larry King Live, Good Morning America, Later Today, MSNBC, Entertainment Tonight and other national television programs. She is the subject of an HBO movie and has lectured at over 5000 schools and universities around the world.
Additionally, Katie is the founder of Take Back The Night Foundation, an international organization working to end sexual violence, support survivors and raise awareness.
An important part of our A Safe Place mission is our commitment to educate within the Nantucket community while empowering individuals to prevent domestic violence and sexual assault. We hope that you will join us in supporting our mission on July 11!
On Monday, May 6, members of the Nantucket Boys & Girls Club will be participating in the Happy Family Poster Contest as part of Supervised Visitation Awareness Month. This contest promotes the importance of healthy relationships and connections through creative design.
Winners will be selected by age groups. All posters will be displayed in A Safe Place’s supervised visitation room here at 5B Windy Way.
Tragedy in Kansas highlights the dangers of public custody exchanges
A Safe Place, a proud member of the Supervised Visitation Network, extends heartfelt condolences to the families affected by the recent tragedy in Kansas, underscoring the critical importance of safe custody exchanges. The disappearance and presumed deaths of Veronica Butler and Jilian Kelley during a custody exchange underscore the need for enhanced safety measures during such delicate proceedings.
We are deeply concerned about the trend of utilizing public places, such as police department parking lots, for custody exchanges where there is high conflict (or abuse) between parents of children. While these areas may appear secure, recent events have demonstrated their inadequacy in ensuring the safety of all involved parties.
In addition to the tragedy in Kansas, there have been numerous incidents across the country where violence erupted during custody exchanges in public spaces. These locations, intended for general use, lack the specialized security measures necessary to minimize the risks inherent in high-conflict custody situations.
A Safe Place emphasizes the importance of supervised exchanges conducted by trained professionals in controlled environments. Our organization, along with other members of the Supervised Visitation Network, implements rigorous safety protocols to mitigate the potential for violence and conflict during exchanges. We voluntarily adhere to the Supervised Visitation Network’s published minimum standards, which encompass all aspects of service provision, including safety and security measures for all participants. These standards are designed to ensure the well-being of everyone involved in custody exchanges.
We urge parents and caregivers to prioritize the safety and well-being of their children by opting for professionally supervised exchanges. These services offer a level of security and oversight that public spaces simply cannot provide.
For more information about A Safe Place’s commitment to safe custody exchanges, please contact us at (508) 228-0561. For inquiries regarding supervised exchange protocols and procedures, please contact Supervised Visitation Program Manager, Crystal Mautner at crystal@asafeplacenantucket.org.
