LEWISTON – The possible scenarios are endless. A kid on his way home from school gets approached by a suspicious stranger. He or she is being bullied or is locked out of the house with no place to go. Or the child is sick and cannot make it home.

Police do not want school children wandering the city afraid and without help. For the past three years, they’ve relied on volunteers who operate safe houses at various locations around the city.

“It’s a place where the kids can go if they have an emergency,” said police Officer Alice French.

On Monday, French was at the Longley School talking to school kids and parents about the McGruff Safe House Program. By that time, there were 10 locations around the city designated at safe areas for children.

The list includes homes on Howe, Horton, Birch, Blake, Walnut and Lincoln streets as well as Dumont Avenue and Apple Road. Most of the safe houses are apartments or houses, but a few are businesses. Each displays a McGruff crime dog poster to distinguish itself as an official safe house.

“All the volunteers go through background checks before they join the program,” French said.

Since 2001, Lewiston police have been using the safe houses. In those years, several children have sought them out.

“I had a group of girls come in one time. They were being bullied by another group of kids,” said Tina Bailey, a volunteer who operates a safe house on Birch Street. “They were able to come in and call their mom.”

On another occasion, a group of children went to a safe house to report that a man had slipped on the ice and suffered a head injury. The kids reported the mishap through a nearby safe house and the victim got medical attention quickly.

“In a situation like that, the safe house is helping, not just the kids, but the adults in the community, as well,” Bailey said.

Police are looking for more volunteers to operate safe houses and help out in other ways. They are particularly interested in new locations along bus routes or anywhere children tend to walk to and from school. Anyone interested in the program should call French at 784-6422, ext. 335.

“It’s a good program,” French said. “We figure, if it saves just one kid, it’s done the job. Everything else is a bonus.”