Quote Originally Posted by liberty View Post
Way back when (maybe 17 years ago?) I used to ride to school. It was probably about 3 miles. We were very poor, and dad needed the car for work. I remember mom and dad taking me on the route and pointing out the "safe houses" where I could go if I got scared. Don't remember what the program was called, but designated safe houses had a child sticker on the front window so kids could know they could go there... We rode the route a few times. I didn't have any bike repair supplies or a cell phone. But it was fun.

Might be a good idea to give her some options of what she can do if she starts to feel unsafe at any given point of the ride. Even though I never had to run to a safe house, I knew where it was in case I needed it. More than likely she won't need the options, but it wouldn't hurt.
In St. Louis county they're called Block Homes. The program is a little rigamarole to get into but not too bad, if you're around about the time kids are going to or coming from school look into it by calling the elementary school in your district. We have an 8 1/2 x 11 card in a front window to let kids know we're a safe home. I did it even without school-age children in my district. The more the merrier.

I'd heard that thing about 911 calls on out of service phones too, but don't know if it's still any good either.