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Columbia’s Rainbow House, Youth Community Coalition and several other community partners are working together to create safe places for young people.

Organizers of the Safe Place Program held a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate their grand opening.

The Safe Place Program uses stickers on windows and doors of area businesses and public buildings that are designated as a Safe Place site.

The stickers let runaways and other troubled youth know they can get help and find shelter.

You can find the stickers at more than 20 locations throughout Columbia.

Youth Community Coalition Program Director Ryan Worley said, “Within just a few minutes, a youth can go from being scared to being safe, from being at risk to being in the presence of people that know how to respond to them and a whole process that’s designed to keep them safe.”

Nearly 3-million runaway and homeless youth live on the streets of America each year.

To get involved, you can click on the link below.