CRESTVIEW — Safe Connections Executive Director Sharon Rogers said circumstances similar to what led to Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Deputy Bill Myers' death could be defused through the nonprofit organization's services.
“That was a domestic violence situation. The mother and father had an 8-month-old baby, which means it should have been referred to us,” Rogers said. “Sometimes, it comes in the injunction.”
The wife of Joel Smith, who shot Myers multiple times in the head and back, filed a Sept. 21 injunction against her husband when, she alleged, he physically assaulted her.
Rogers said in such situations, non-custodial parents often care about their children despite animosity toward the other parent. “They’ll say, ‘What about my child. When do I get to see them?’” she said. “This is what we deal with. It highlights the need for our visitation center and a safe place for visitation.”
The 18-year-old organization in April opened a permanent home on Seventh Avenue to provide supervised visits. Here, non-custodial parents can spend quality time with their children in a home-like environment.
The home, with separate entrances for the non-custodial parent and the custodial parent and child, was purchased and renovated under a federal Safe Haven grant and a $128,000 gift from Impact 100 Northwest Florida.
The grant funds OCSO deputies’ presence during visits that might include non-custodial parents with a history or potential for violence, Rogers said. Almost 20 families now use the service, she said.
The non-profit seeks a similar facility in Shalimar, where Safe Connections operates from aging upstairs rooms in the Methodist church.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview organization safely unites non-custodial parents with children (FILE)