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New Centers Give Shelter, Comfort In Trying Times

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 12, 2008

Don't think you can make a difference in your community? Consider Mary Lee Farrior and Sara Romeo.

These two determined women have made Tampa a safer place for society's most vulnerable. Their efforts led to the dedication in recent weeks of two new institutions, Mary Lee's House, a protection and advocacy center for abused children, and Athena House, a living center for homeless female veterans.

Neither place would have been a possibility without the vision of Farrior and Romeo, two women known for their civic involvement.

But neither place would have come to fruition without citizens throughout the community pitching in time, money and resources.

Athena House will eventually be home to 16 female veterans, the largest center of its kind in the Southeast. The shelter is a former Ybor City boarding house and had served male soldiers returning from World War II.

Romeo was instrumental in saving the historic structure from the wrecking ball when it stood in the path of the Interstate 4 widening project. When the building was put up for bids, the nonprofit Tampa Crossroads submitted the winning offer. Romeo says everything in the newly renovated and furnished home is donated. The project is a testament to the value of giving both people and buildings a second chance.

The women who live there not only will have a roof over their heads, but access to help with veteran-related issues, such as post-traumatic stress.

In West Tampa, Mary Lee's House is already operating as a state-of-the art center for children who have suffered abuse. The $6 million, 30,000-square-foot center will house all agencies that work to rescue children from abusive situations.

Mary Lee's House has gathered agencies that deal with abused children under one roof: law enforcement, the state attorney's and public defender's offices, the Florida Department of Children & Families, the USF Department of Pediatrics and community mental health organizations.

Now instead of being taken into the functional but cold world of law enforcement and the courts, abused children will be brought to cheerful Mary Lee's House, where everything is designed with kids in mind, right down to the tiny interview chairs and medical examination rooms.

The goal is to bring all the groups together to promote collaboration that will benefit children.

Mary Lee Farrior, her son Rex Farrior III and executive director Peg Reese traveled Florida and studied other children's advocacy centers across the United States to make sure Mary Lee's House was designed to use the best practices in working with traumatized children.

The news these days is rarely happy, and the stories of homeless veterans and abused children only add to the pain. But these two developments offer hope to those in need and show that even the worst of times can bring out the best in people.

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