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Safe Place now needs own haven Photo by Bob Pennell Beth Foster and her daughter, Shayna, 2, share a moment at the Safe Place, a west Medford house where low-income women can find free clothing, advice, and referrals to services they need. Foster is working at the Safe Place to satisfy community service hours imposed for a criminal conviction. Help project's grant expires By SUSAN JAY Zetta Martinez, 26, comes to the Safe Place because the staff here are the closest people she has to a family. Beth Foster, 21 and pregnant, comes so she can watch her 2-year-old while completing her court-ordered community service hours. Vicki Edwards, 38, a single mother of three, comes in occasionally for free clothes. For several years the Safe Place has been an oasis for thousands of low-income women, many of whom have faced domestic abuse or drug and alcohol problems. They come seeking a little help and find the support and tools needed to change their lives day by day. Now the Safe Place is in danger, after its four-year federal grant ended in October. It has moved around in downtown Medford and is now situated in a small, three-bedroom house at 801 W. 10th St. The grant paid for rent, utilities and a coordinator. In October alone, the Safe Place saw more than 350 women walk through the doors, along with their children. In 1996, 5,000 families received help. The Safe Place offers free clothing, furniture, toys, car seats and information on how to obtain other services. Narcotics Anonymous meetings are held weekly, a craft day for families monthly. There's also a community garden out back. It's hard to describe all the needs this home fills, but a few hours on Thursday give a hint. Martinez, who is four months pregnant, spent the morning on the Safe Place phone, setting up appointments with Services to Children and Families, securing a job and looking for an apartment. Abused as a child, Martinez lived in and out of foster homes most of her life. Now she is fighting the same pattern with her kids, who are in foster care. "To me and my heart, this is my family," said the Klamath Indian woman, who comes here almost daily for advice and guidance in completing the requirements to regain custody of her children. Also on Thursday, 2-year-old Shayna Foster squealed with laughter as she kept her mom company. Shayna's mother, Beth Foster, sorted clothes and furniture donations, hung clothes on racks and cleaned to satisfy community service hours imposed when she was convicted of theft and harassment. "I think it's neat that we help out so many people," Foster said. Hearing other people's stories has made her problems fade in comparison, she said. Women also dropped in throughout the day for free clothing. Two were still recovering from a February fire that burned down part of their Sams Valley rental. Edwards was picking up clothes because "I got a job and I start today." The new divorcee said, "I'm just getting back on my feet." When women walk in, Tina Livingston, the Safe Place coordinator, and Tonya Flockoi, the Hope Chest coordinator, greet them and quickly assess their situation and needs. Livingston has been the one helping Martinez find housing, follow a budget and follow through on state requirements to regain custody of her four children. Because Martinez is pregnant, as are many of the women who come here, Livingston can bill the Oregon Health Plan for providing prenatal intervention services. That's one way they are trying to keep the Safe Place running. Jackson County's maternal and child health nurses, who started the drop-in center, also are using some of their department's money to pay for Safe Place expenses. But these steps can't cover all the expenses all the time. The home alone costs $10,000 a year in rent and utilities. The home-like setting is important, especially to catch women falling through the cracks because they're hesitant to seek help. "A lot of these women come in because they're not safe at home and they want to talk about it, or their resources are so low they can't afford Goodwill," said Robin Turgeson, a public health nurse who started the Safe Place with boxes of donated clothes under her desk. The ideal solution would be a donated space, she said. Short of that, the staff has been researching grants and is seeking contributions and ideas that could help keep the Safe Place running. (For information on how to help, call Robin Turgeson at 774-8026 or the Safe Place at 776-7261.) Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA