Inside Osso Safe: Turning Homes Into Safe Environments With Policy, Education & Technology

Sabrina Osso (13:47)
Yes, hire us, hire us. We’ll get your property Osso Safe certified. What we have is the Osso Safe certification for properties, and this is where landlords, property owners, property managers, they purchase the Osso Safe Home Sweet Home Package. It consists of a policy, a seminar, an app, and therapists assigned to the property. Those are the four components of the Osso Safe Home Sweet Home Package.

Scott Bursey (01:59)
Welcome back to the Real Estate Pro podcast, powered by Investor Fuel. I’m your host, Scott Bursey, and today we have Sabrina Osso with us. Sabrina is the powerhouse speaker, author, and dancer who has shifted her unique background into a specialized real estate niche, focusing entirely on safety and respect within our homes, schools, and workplaces. Her Osso Safe initiative is effectively redefining how we think about the environments we occupy every day.

Sabrina, welcome to the show.

Sabrina Osso (02:34)
Thank you so much, Scott. It’s a pleasure to be here with you.

Scott Bursey (02:39)
It is an honor to have you here, Sabrina, and to help our listeners get up to speed. If you could please give us the front row seat on how your career ignited and where you’re pouring your fuel now.

Sabrina Osso (02:53)
Yes, I am a survivor of violence. My father beat my mother on a regular basis. My mother would beat me, so I know firsthand how difficult it is to live in that type of environment, traumatic. And it just makes everything so difficult to maneuver, you know. And so Osso Safe was born really out of a one woman show.

That I wrote, choreographed, and performed. And that show is called Home Sweet Home Question Mark. I play different women being abused. She goes to her good place. That’s where the dancing comes in. But then she’s pulled back into the terror of violence. The show ends really strong, really empowering. And I did a lot of research for the show, Scott, and I could not believe the statistics that I was finding.

So I said to myself, I need to make this into a business, a bona fide business with products and services that could really help people. We’re proud to say that we’re not a nonprofit, we’re not a charity. The epidemic of violence, abuse, chaos, dysfunction cannot be resolved by figuratively speaking, holding a bucket and waiting for money to hit that bucket. It needs to be a paid service.

And that’s what Osso Safe is. It’s a paid service combining education and technology to make respect the required standard in all homes. So that is the fuel. That is the essence of Osso Safe—making respect the required standard.

And my ability to turn pain into power, as I say. And I know that if I had my own products and services growing up, my parents would not have gotten away with half the things they got away with. And we’re making this—we’re speaking with—I’m sorry, I think I’m getting ahead of myself, but I hope I answer the question.

Scott Bursey (05:53)
You most certainly did. And Sabrina, it’s amazing how your background often provides exact tools that we later need in life to solve the biggest problems that we do face later in life.

Sabrina Osso (06:06)
Right, right. I’m glad you pointed that out. Yes, yes. And actually I’ve been I have close connection with children. I make it a point because every child that I see, I always think, is he or she safe at home? I always think that. Always. What’s going on at home? Like what is it that’s going on? And I try to read them, I try to see

whether I know them well or whether I just met them. And I could tell pretty quickly what the situation is, just by their body language, how they speak, what they don’t say. There’s a lot that’s said in silence, right? So I definitely am in tune to that. And if we make children, help them

to live in environments that are truly safe, respectful, well they’re not going to grow up to be future victims, future abusers. And that’s how it should be. You know, when you put that key in your lock, you should feel like it’s home and not hell. You should feel like it’s your sanctuary and not your war zone. Because that’s how I felt growing up. And the real estate industry is instrumental

in doing this with Osso Safe. I see it as one and the same entity. They feed into each other very well.

Scott Bursey (07:47)
And what are a couple of the core strengths of Osso Safe?

Sabrina Osso (07:52)
Yes. Like I said, we’re not a nonprofit. We’re not a charity. So I think that’s a huge strength. It’s a very different approach, you know. Because I have to say, look at the statistics. I mean, one out of three women will be beaten or raped in a lifetime, one out of five adolescent girls is abused by her boyfriend, one out of seven men is abused.

Fifteen million children witness violence in their own homes each and every year. I could go on and on with statistics. The nonprofits are out there with those statistics.

It’s not being resolved because if it was working as a nonprofit, those statistics would be much, much lower. So one major strength is that we are a bona fide business with products and services. The second strength is that we are making respect a required standard in all homes. So it’s a non-negotiable.

It’s in contracts, it’s in all of our policies. And this is whether you have a mortgage or not, whether you own the property or not, whether it’s an apartment, whether it’s a house, a home, whatever it is. So that’s the second strength. And the third strength is that children have a say in where they live.

We are giving them voice and choice. So those three main components I would say.

Scott Bursey (09:35)
Thank you for that, Sabrina. And taking a step back, where do you find the biggest blind spot for most homeowners when it comes to maintaining a culture of respect and safety in their own living space?

Sabrina Osso (09:49)
What are the challenges?

Scott Bursey (09:53)
Yes. What are some of the hurdles in respect of safety in their very own space that they occupy, their own living space?

Sabrina Osso (10:36)
Right. It’s one of the main things is education. I mean what we’re offering is pretty avant-garde, it’s very progressive. We’re putting respect on the map, so to speak, in real estate. So it’s not just here are the keys, you bought your house, great, good luck. I’m here if you need to refinance, if you need better insurance.

All of that, yes, is necessary, but what about feeling safe in your home? Respect, making it a required standard, putting your money where your mouth is type of thing, where you sign it in a policy, which is what we have, the Osso Safe certification for properties for every single property out there. The goal is to have every property Osso Safe certified. So that is the challenge—just changing people’s mindset. That is education, but repetitive education. How do you view your home in terms of not being abusive, being respectful with your partner, with yourself, with your children.

I find a lot of parents will say, well I’m disciplining my child, and we at Osso Safe have to educate them and say no, you just beat them up.

You just humiliated them in the store or at a public establishment. That’s not discipline. Discipline instills education. Abuse instills fear. So if your child fears you, that’s abuse. If your child feels like, okay I understand what mom, dad, stepmom, stepdad

is trying to say to me, okay I get it now, I understand. They don’t have fear, they understand and they’ll correct their mistakes. So that’s a big challenge—the education part of it.

Scott Bursey (13:25)
Sabrina, that is such a grounded point. Thank you for that. And curious to know, as a real estate professional, how can we better integrate the Osso Safe principles into property management protocols to add real value for our clients?

Sabrina Osso (13:47)
Yes, hire us, hire us. We’ll get your property Osso Safe certified. What we have is the Osso Safe certification for properties, and this is where landlords, property owners, property managers, they purchase the Osso Safe Home Sweet Home Package. It consists of a policy, a seminar, an app, and therapists assigned to the property. Those are the four components of the Osso Safe Home Sweet Home Package.

And this is something we made very price friendly. And this is something that we’re making a standard in your home, whether you’re buying, whether you’re selling, whether you’re renting, whether you own. And this is especially beneficial for multifamily dwellings. I can’t tell you how many people have said, wow I really hope that my building where I live becomes Osso Safe certified because I live next door or above or below a couple that is always fighting. Police come to the property. I feel like I’m about to move out because I can’t take it anymore. It affects my living space even though it’s not happening in my space, but I hear them and I’m uncomfortable in the elevator with them.

I know it’s happening in 2A, in 5C, you know. So this is changing the face of residency, if you will.

And with those four components, the policy basically states: I as a landlord promise to provide you a safe space for you to live.

You in turn as my tenant, my resident, you promise to not act in any way, shape, or form abusively. Otherwise you, the abuser, only gets immediately evicted from the premises. And we go into full knowledge knowing that that would be the consequences. So there’s no surprise. That’s the policy. The second component is the Osso Safe Home Sweet Home Seminar. Everybody gets educated, Scott.

adults and children alike on facts, statistics, warning signs, definitions of abuse, the difference between abuse and discipline, what constitutes a good relationship, what are the warning signs of a bad relationship.

The third component is the app, which is being modified, it’s being improved upon. This app will detect violence-like movements and capture them in real time, issuing alerts to the landlord or property owner.

And the fourth component—therapists are assigned to the property. In an Osso Safe certified property, you are required once a month to check in with your therapist. Is everything okay? Do you feel like anything is looming?

So all of these four components working together makes for an Osso Safe certified property.

Scott Bursey (20:14)
Understood. When we frame safety as a premium amenity, just like a smart home system or granite countertop, we’re not just providing a service, we’re providing peace of mind. That’s how you build long term loyalty with tenants. Sabrina, interested to know what’s the vision of Osso Safe in the next twelve to twenty-four months.

Sabrina Osso (20:38)
Yes, to get more properties Osso Safe certified, getting the word out, marketing. I’ve been marketing a lot actually to children because on the side I substitute teach and I get in front of children of all ages. Children actually search for me on their own. They look at my website, they’re looking at everything I’m doing and they’re feeling empowered.

So to answer your question, to get children more aware of our services so that way they’re empowered and know they have options. And the goal is to have more properties Osso Safe certified. We want to partner with insurance companies and mortgage companies to give incentives to landlords and property owners, where if they get their property Osso Safe certified, their insurance rates go down and property value goes up.

That would be the goal, 12 to 24 months.

Scott Bursey (22:23)
Looking at the landscape today, what’s the one major external pressure on our schools and workplaces that makes your work more critical than ever right now?

Sabrina Osso (22:35)
Excellent question. As a substitute teacher, I just can’t believe how often teachers yell at their students. And I know as a survivor and former student, home was hell for me.

And then at school, the teachers were not very proactive and caring about what’s going on and not adding to that trauma. It’s all about take out your books, go to page 55, do this exercise—very robotic.

And if you don’t connect with your students, you’re just adding to their trauma that’s happening at home. I’m not saying you need to delve into their home life, but you can lessen their pain and suffering by really caring. It’s linking school with home and home with school.

That is a challenge right there. The lack of education and mentality needs improvement.

Scott Bursey (25:06)
Thank you for that, Sabrina. What is the first immediate change someone can make today to increase the sense of safety in their own home environment?

Sabrina Osso (25:22)
We are big proponents of therapy, but good therapy. A good therapist is a third person who can really help you see things clearly.

There is no shame in getting help. There’s shame in not getting help versus getting help.

Another thing is to practice asking for space in your own home. You come home after a bad day, and you say: I need 20 minutes in this space, please don’t bother me. I need to decompress.

Even five minutes is fine. That time allows you to be better for your family.

With children, really see them and hear them. Talk to them clearly, explain things simply. You don’t need to yell or humiliate them.

Do role-playing before situations like going to a store or restaurant. Show them expected behavior. That really helps them understand and practice respect.

Scott Bursey (29:26)
I’m taking away from this that we need to focus on the human element. That is powerful. Thank you for that, Sabrina. And you’ve given our listeners just a lot of really good substance here today. But is there any final thoughts that you could leave with our listeners?

Sabrina Osso (29:45)
Sure, yes. Know that you deserve to be in a good relationship and in a safe home environment.

Whether you live in a townhouse, condo, apartment, mansion, mobile home, senior community, dormitory—it doesn’t matter—you deserve respect.

End relationships when warning signs appear. Don’t try to fix abusive behavior yourself.

Just because you are a parent does not give the right to abuse your child.

And let’s make respect the required standard in all homes.

Speak out. You deserve to be treated with respect.

Scott Bursey (31:34)
Before we wrap up, if our listeners want to follow your journey or collaborate with you, what’s the best way to reach you?

Sabrina Osso (31:46)
Our website is ossosafe.com. We are on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram. YouTube and TikTok are dedicated to kids content.

Our children’s book is also available on Amazon and other platforms.

Scott Bursey (32:35)
Sabrina, thank you for joining us here today.

Sabrina Osso (32:40)
Thank you. It was an honor to be on your show.

Scott Bursey (32:47)
And thank you for what you’re doing for society.

Sabrina Osso (32:52)
Thank you.

Scott Bursey (32:55)
And to our listeners, we thank you. If you received value from today’s episode, please subscribe. We’ll be filling your tanks with a lineup of elite guests just like Sabrina Osso. Until next time, keep your standards high and your vision clear. We’ll see you in the next episode, everyone.