CCSEV Overview

In Chautauqua County, numerous children are injured each year because they lack the understanding necessary to avoid those situations where danger is present. Studies have shown that young children often forget important lessons that we as adults tell them in an effort to keep them safe.

Furthermore, when children are shown things that are known to be dangerous, they may not fully comprehend what can happen. As adults, we know it's not practical to bring children to a busy intersection and have them practice the proper way to cross the street, or to have them ride their bicycles on roadways where cars are driving by and then show them what they did incorrectly. We can't fill our homes with smoke and have children practice how to get out safely. The truth is, that most families have never performed a fire drill at their home, have no designated location for the family members to go to if a fire in the home were to occur and when our children are outside playing or riding their bicycles, we hope the phone doesn't ring with bad news.

But what if there was a way to not only show them the dangers, but have them actually experience danger in a controlled and safe manner? An experience where they would fully understand what to do if they find themselves in a situation that wasn't safe. Soon there will be!

Local business leaders, educators, Government Officials, Law Enforcement personnel, Firefighters and concerned citizens have come together to give our County's children what they need to stay safe. Chautauqua County will be one of the first areas in the United States to have a state-of-the-art facility where every child in our community will be taught through a hands-on learning experience.

The Chautauqua Children's Safety Education Village is currently under construction at the Hewes Educational Center in Ashville, NY. When finished, there will be a child's size town, complete with a business district, streets, traffic signals and railway crossing. Sheriff's Deputies will teach the children how to properly cross the street, sign recognition, bicycle safety, how to call 911 and what questions to expect, what to do at a railway crossing and many other safety related scenarios. There will be a state-of-the-art fire education center that will allow trained firefighters to teach electrical safety and fill rooms with simulated smoke, allowing children to practice escape plans and then gather at a designated meeting location.