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"Jeremy's Room" is a special project of Heiden House.
It will serve as a temporary emergency shelter for anyone in need of a safe place to stay. If you have read the biography
of Jeremy Heiden (see the "Heiden House" page on this web site), you know that when Jeremy was 17, he ran away from home because
of abuse. For a year he lived out of his car in Marshfield because he had no place to go.
We all also know that it
is not uncommon for young men and women to be "kicked out" of their homes when parents learn that their child is gay. It happened
recently to a young man who lives in Wisconsin Rapids. Like Jeremy, he had no place to go and ended up staying with an older
man he met off the Internet. This was not a very smart thing to do, but this young man felt that he had no other options.
The Safe Zone Foundation believes that no individual should have to be without a safe place to go when they are in
need of shelter. "Jeremy's Room" will provide that shelter on a temporary basis while helping the individual find
safe, suitable living arrangements.
If the individual is under the age of 18, Safe Zone Foundation will work with
the Wood County Sheriff's Department and Wood County Social Services to place the individual in an appropriate facitlity.
In all cases, the Safe Zone Foundation will provide family counseling free of charge and work to place the individual
back at home with his or her family if it is appropriate.
Staff and volunteers of the Safe Zone Foundation are required
by law to report any child abuse or neglect, confirmed or only suspected, to the proper authorities.
"Jeremy's Room"
will ensure that no one, especially our young community members, are left without a safe place to go to in a time of crisis.
It is our mission to help anyone in need. No one will be turned away.
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