Sarah, Thanks for bringing this topic up. I am a Starbucks fan, even as far as owning stock! LOL I think they deserve kudos for taking on this subject in a public way. Too many times corporations do not approach things from a human perspective, only those things that are specifically required by federal or local laws. I do hope other's follow their lead.

It is a sad commentary on our society when corporate osha laws, that have been around since the industrial revolution are now coined politically correct. Wow didn't realize Starbucks invented sliced bread.

Hi,Sarah think it would be very good idea for all companies to have safe space employee training.

I work at McDonald's. We encounter a great number of homeless who are cold and tired. These people stay up all night, on the coldest nights, and then come into our store to get warm, and they fall asleep because they stayed up all night to keep from freezing. There are many judgement calls made as to whether or not these people should be allowed to stay in the store or be forced to leave because they are dirty and smell like body odor. There is no concrete policy as long as others do not complain. There is no solution because we do not have a help the homeless policy. We train on how to stay safe if anyone is using drugs or has weapons. However, we do not train on how to deal with homeless or mentally ill.

Kudos to Starbucks for taking the first step in Seattle.

I hope so. This is a great idea! I'm a DD person but today I think I'll buy a Starbucks coffee!

Wow, that's pretty fantastic. It would be nice to see more chains and shops across the nation following their lead!

never hear of a company offering something like this before. people usually avoid getting involved when others are being harassed. Nice to know there's a safehaven out there that you can turn to and get help. Interested to find out what the training is like.