Space for vulnerable children

Children who are victims of or have witnessed domestic violence have more space to play, learn social-emotional skills, and connect with their peers at the Turning Pointe Survivor Advocacy Center shelter in Shelton.

On Friday, the nonprofit organization celebrated the completion of a 400-square-foot addition to accommodate its growing youth programs with a ribbon-cutting ceremony with employees, board members, donors and public officials. The two new offices will be the focal point for youth advocacy and prevention.

The building addition is phase two of a proposed three-phase plan to help youths, said Gina Finley, the organization's executive director. At one point before the COVID pandemic, a record 27 children were staying at the shelter, she said.

Finley said the process began three years ago when she told local architect and consultant Len Williams she was having a difficult time creating a youth program with no space. Williams lent his services free of charge developing phase one, the conversion of an existing office space into a designated youth activities room, with the help of Green Diamond Resources, in 2019-2020. The proposed third phase is the creation of a building for child care for clients, Finley said.

Child care is one of the biggest challenges, because the mothers can't get to job interviews and take care of other business, she said. To make a donation for the building, call Finley at 360-426-1216.

Finley said the shelter didn't have youth programs when she started four years ago. At Friday's ribbon-cutting ceremony, she recalled watching two boys at the shelter, not from the same family, walking out of a room laughing.

"I was amazed by their resiliency," she said.

Finley said she watched a woman and her daughter, about 3 years old, picking cherry tomatoes off a bush in the garden. But she also witnessed a very upset boy smash all the windows in his room and then run outside, where he threw rocks at staff. Shelton Police had to be called.

"That bummed my heart," Finley said.

Erin Feeley is the youth and program manager at the shelter.

She ran a summer youth program that included arts and yoga classes, where the kids "have fun, play, be kids ... just to able to make noise, be outside is important," she said. This gave mothers the chance to clean their rooms, meet with care providers, she added.

Participating in activities with other children also gave them the opportunity to share their experiences and feelings, Feeley said. One child told her, "I feel less alone,' "she said.