The First Two Years of One Safe Place.

DA’s One Safe Place Hits Milestone of Supporting More Than 6,000 People in North County

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan announced that One Safe Place: The North County Family Justice Center in San Marcos, is celebrating its two-year anniversary and has released an Impact Report, which highlights the achievements and services offered at this state-of-the-art Family Justice Center. The report was released during a celebration at One Safe Place on Monday with more than 100 community partners, leaders and dignitaries in attendance.

Watch a video of the two-year anniversary celebration, here. You can read the complete Two-Year “Impact Report” for One Safe Place, here.

“For two years, One Safe Place: The North County Family Justice Center became a place for hope, healing and justice for over 6,000 victims and survivors including more than 2,000 children,” said DA Stephan. “Our collaboration with an unprecedented 107 community and government partners, especially Palomar Health and its nationally accredited Child Advocacy Center, allows us to meet the safety and health needs of every person who walks through our doors from help with trauma services, restraining orders, sexual assault and domestic violence examinations to connections with housing and jobs that allow victims to live with dignity and safety.”

Since opening on July 5, 2022, One Safe Place has supported more than 6,000 people, provided legal services to over 1,600 people, and received more than 14,000 calls to its helpline. The center serves as a community hub, where more than 23,000 people have taken part in various public safety-related events, trainings and meetings. One Safe Place provides support services all under one roof to anyone who has experienced any type of crime or victimization. Currently, One Safe Place collaborates with some 107 community organizations and agencies from across the county.

The two-year history of services offered at One Safe Place include:

  • Adult forensic examinations following a sexual assault, performed by trained health care professionals who assess a victim’s health care needs, coordinate treatment for any injuries, offer support and crisis intervention, and collect and document any potential evidence. More than 280 adult forensic evidentiary exams have been conducted.
  • A nationally accredited Child Advocacy Center which has conducted more than 100 medical exams and 578 forensic interviews with children and teens since opening.
  • Crime victims have received over 10,000 services including safety planning, resource navigation, hands-on assistance with applications for services, and more.
  • Palomar Health Trauma Recovery Center therapists conducted 6,756 therapy sessions with children, teens, and adults.
  • 1,358 individuals helped through a restraining order clinic.
  • 440 crime victims were helped to obtain safe shelter and housing.
  • One Safe Place provided food, clothing, shoes, and over 30,000 packs of diapers in our first two years.

The two-year anniversary celebration included formal remarks from San Marcos Mayor Rebecca Jones, Carlsbad Police Chief Christie Calderwood, Palomar Health Executive for Strategic Planning Sheila Brown, and Mexican Consul General Alicia Kerber-Palma.

Three survivors who have received services at One Safe Place spoke at the ceremony, including Amy, who took part in a mentorship program called Pathways and a summer camp called Camp Hope, designed for children who have experienced trauma.

“Pathways events have helped me feel normal, when everything in my life at the moment was everything but normal,” Amy said. “One Safe Place has become my safe haven. I can confidently say I feel safe when I am here. Every single person here, with a simple hello, has made me feel valued.”

As part of the two-year anniversary celebration, a conference room was dedicated and named after Dr. Wilma Wooten, retired San Diego County Chief Public Health Officer and was named the “Dr. Wooten Health and Healing Collaboration Space.” Dr.Wooten was a champion for victims recognizing the importance of collaboration between public health and public safety professionals. The onsite Forensic Health Services Suite was also named the “Cathy McLennan Forensic Health Services Suite” named after the late Cathy McLennan, a nationally recognized forensic interviewer from Palomar Health who dedicated her career to the protection of children.

One Safe Place: The North County Family Justice Center is located at 1050 Los Vallecitos Blvd., San Marcos, CA 92069. It is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on the first Saturday of the month from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.