DanceSafe Kicks off "Club Safety Awareness Initiative"

Contacts:

Melissa Martin - melissa@dancesafe.org
Reyna Olvera (SF Bay Area) - bayarea@dancesafe.org
Sarah Steer (San Diego) - sandiego@dancesafe.org


"Keep the Beat, Move your Feet, Reduce the Heat!"
Youth Health Education Group Kicks Off Nightclub Safety Awareness Program

In response to recent nightclub tragedies and the passage of the Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act, youth health education group DanceSafe is launching a Club Safety Awareness program this week in three areas of the U.S.: the San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego and New York City. Under the slogan, "Keep the Beat, Move your Feet, Reduce the Heat!" this program will facilitate an open dialogue between club owners and staff and club patrons to address community health and safety issues, and identify practical solutions to those issues.

Marsha Rosenbaum, Director of the Safety First Project of the Drug Policy Alliance states, "This is a proactive program addressing current public safety concerns of the club community, as well as the potential concerns raised by enforcement of the recently passed Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act."

The Club Safety Awareness program will concentrate on two areas - facilitating dialogue between club owners and club patrons about club-related legislation, and raising awareness of public health and safety issues in the nightclub world.

Raising public health and safety awareness means educating both club owners and club patrons about locations of fire exits, the danger of blocked exits and other obstacles that might prevent quick evacuation, and the importance of emergency equipment such as fire extinguishers and CPR kits. It also means forming a community-wide collaboration to facilitate partnership and personal responsibility.

In each city, the program will be carried out by DanceSafe chapters working with public safety agencies, such as local fire departments and city departments of public health. For example, the Fire Department of New York has said it supports fire safety initiatives like the Club Safety Awareness program in light of the February Rhode Island club fire that resulted in 100 deaths. The program will be coordinated with the local chapters by DanceSafe's national office.

DanceSafe is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote health and safety in the rave and nightclub community. Founded in 1999, DanceSafe has 20 chapters throughout the U.S. and Canada with a national office in New York City.