These helping hand signs hanging in neighborhood windows show kids they have a safe place to run to in an emergency. Concerned adults will volunteer their homes as havens and agree to help children who are frightened, injured, lost or scared. Block home volunteers may administer basic first aid, provide a glass of water or call 911 if a child is seriously injured or in danger. They aren't required to bring the children into their homes. The program is not intended to provide a baby-sitting or child care service, Dodgson said.
Volunteers undergo a rigid screening test to be a part of the program.
They must have a working telephone, a homeowner's or renter's insurance policy, background check, home visit and unanimous approval of a screening panel made up of school, police, church and medical officials. It's a complicated process, but Dodgson said a necessary one because she'd want her kids going to a safe place. The busy mom hopes to have block homes in place near Keene-Riverview and Heights elementary schools and the middle school before classes begin this fall. She'd also like to see the program in place throughout Benton County and in other towns. People need to pull their heads out of the sand.