New task force, Upper Valley SAFE Initiative, offers free family protection workshops
REXBURG, Idaho (KIFI) — Keeping children safe is every parent's goal, and a local task force is arming families with protection through education. They call themselves the Upper Valley SAFE (Safety, Awareness, Freedom, Education) Initiative. The new group, formed last year, was organized by parents, grandparents, and community members.Â
"The Upper Valley SAFE Initiative is really a volunteer led, community based, team of professionals from a cross-section of expertise who also happen to be parents, grandparents, who are concerned about their children and want to do everything they can to, provide safety and awareness and enhance their freedoms through education," said Dean Coleman Co-founder of the Upper Valley Safe Initiative.
Founded by Rexburg residents Dean and Kristin Coleman, the group's goal is to empower families with safety awareness, life skills to protect children, and build resilient communities. They have partnered with local law enforcement, educators, therapists, and other community leaders.
"We're organizing it because in moving to Rexburg, we've met a lot of great people who work in law enforcement, different agencies. But they're really maxed out with some of the things that they're doing. And so we're a supplement to support them and their efforts," said Kristin Coleman, Co-founder of the Upper Valley Safe Initiative.
The group was formed in 2025, but they plan to go into action this year. They are organizing a series of workshops to deliver free education to the community. In honor of January being National Slavery and Human Trafficking Awareness and Prevention Month, they plan to kick off their program by hosting a free class called "Family Protection Through Digital Safety." They want to provide parents and caregivers with information on how to protect children online.
"The SAFE Team draws from the professional training and real-world experience of its members, extrapolating essential knowledge and streamlining key concepts into practical, easy-to-understand education for families. These workshops focus on reducing vulnerabilities that can place children and families at risk and lead to harmful outcomes, and are free to the community," said Dean Coleman.
The educational topics include, but are not limited to:
- Online and cyber safety
- Home and relationship safety, including AI platforms
- Emotional regulation and life skills
- Basic emergency preparedness
- Awareness and prevention of all forms of exploitation
"I just don't think anyone is more invested in eastern Idaho than the residents who live here. And we're focusing on strengthening families. And because we're parents and grandparents, it's important to us. And it just happens that it's important to everyone that we've talked to so far," Kristin Coleman.
The event is free and scheduled for Monday, January 26, at the Rexburg City Council Chambers at City Hall. The class kicks off at 6:30 PM.
Because of how new the organization is, it does not currently have an online presence. The group hopes to have something up and running by the 26th to offer online resources for families.
