TAMPA, Florida -- When Mary Lee's House opened four years ago, the toys made children feel welcome.

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"Domestic violence, rape, sexual assault, a lot of the things people don't like to think about that occur in our community," says Dr. Leslie Kille, who works in trauma recovery at the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay inside Mary Lee's House.
Mary Lee's House on Armenia Avenue is where children go after they've been abused or neglected and referred either by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office or by Florida's Abuse Hotline. Here, they can receive medical exams, interviews from investigators, and counseling through art.
"The place was built with them in mind," says Trish Waterman, director of the Children's Justice Center inside Mary Lee's House.
- 5 votes
It's a shame that there is a need for a place like this, but I'm so glad that there is.
- 5 votes
So am I, tzia. If it wasn't for places like this, what would these children's lives be like? If at minimum, they have a safe haven to go back to where they would be received with welcoming arms, maybe not by everyone because of reminders, but by most.
My heart always goes out for these children. So many times they are helpless in a world that sees them only as a pawn to support others hidden agenda. They need love, attention, and to know that someone in what seems to be their cold world feels they are important for things other than evil and that their existence is worth something.
Pon
- 2 votes
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