CRESTVIEW — Had Emmanuel Menz's supervised visit with his non-custodial parents been at Safe Connections instead of a fast food restaurant, it's unlikely he would have been kidnapped.
"We would never have a child out of our line of sight," Safe Connections Executive Director Sharon Rogers said, referring to situations like last year's Menz kidnapping. "We do visits in a safe place, never out in the community, where there are too many variables."
The 18-year-old nonprofit — which also has centers in DeFuniak Springs and Shalimar — opened its Seventh Avenue location in Crestview on Thursday after several months of renovations.
FEELS LIKE HOME
Finding affordable, commercial property to renovate was a challenge, Rogers said. Criteria included providing separate parking and entrances for visitors and custodial parents with children.
A Seventh Avenue house's complete remodeling provided the security and comfort Safe Connections sought. Spaces include two cheerfully decorated primary visitation rooms stocked with toys and children's books, a holding room and a custodial parent waiting room with a TV. A security area separates the building's two sections.
"We make the setting so nice and comfortable, it's like a big comfy place to visit," Rogers said. "We provide really respectful and courteous supervision, but with training."
Visiting parents must arrive 15 minutes before the custodial parent and child, and be checked for any inappropriate materials before the visit, program coordinator Ken Tate said.
"It can be dangerous," he said. "They're not always happy when they come here. But we treat them as parents, with respect. When they see we're here to help them, they cam down."
'GRASSROOTS PROJECT'
A group of child psychologists, DCF supervisors, family attorneys and other child welfare professionals founded Safe Connections, Rogers said. The idea of a supervised visitation was, in 1997, "a fairly new concept," she said. "We started with $700. It was truly a grassroots project with volunteers."
Safe Connections' purchase and renovation of the Seventh Avenue home was funded through a Northwest Florida Impact 100 grant of $128,000. Much of the center's continued operations are funded through a $400,000 Okaloosa County U.S. Department of Justice Office of Violence Against Women Safe Haven grant.
Other funding comes from grants, a contract with the Department of Children and Families, and local gifts, Rogers said.
HARSH REALITIES
The center's clients include families with domestic violence or mental health issues, drug and alcohol abuse, paternity cases and parents who have been incarcerated, Rogers said.
She anticipates Crestview's center will have at least 25 family clients within six months. Children visiting their parents at Safe Connections generally live with a single parent, grandparents, foster families or in shelters such as Children in Crisis.
"The realities why there is a need for a center like ours are pretty harsh," Rogers said. "But when parents are seeing their children, they are making changes. It reminds them to get their act together and be strong for their child, pay their child support, meet their obligations."
"We see success stories where people turn the corner and say, 'I want to be a responsible parent,'" Tate said.
WANT TO GO?
Referrals to the Crestview Safe Connections family visitation center can be made by contacting case manager Heather Smith, 398-8855, 618 Seventh Ave.
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Safe Connections' new center offers supervised family visits in Crestview