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<\/p>\n‘Furnishing Hope in Aransas County’ creates a ‘soft room’ for abuse survivors, offering a secure and comforting space to alleviate trauma during the legal process.<\/p>\n
ROCKPORT, Texas \u2014 A new effort is underway at the Aransas County Courthouse that will bring comfort to victims in the local justice system.\u00a0<\/p>\n
‘Furnishing Hope in Aransas County’ is a community initiative that is in the process of creating a ‘soft room’ inside the courthouse.<\/p>\n
Cilinda Bogk is helping design the safe space for children and survivors of sexual abuse and domestic violence during trial.<\/p>\n
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“You become a recluse, so to speak, and you get lost within yourself and uh I feel like having that privacy is going to allow them not to have that defensive, uh, feeling come over them,” Bogk said.<\/p>\n
She understands first hand how important it is to feels cure during a difficult time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0“I was involved in, um, child abuse, um, at the age of 7 and at the age of 91 was a relative and one was, um, my best friend’s grandfather, and then again at the age of 18 I was raped by two military soldiers and that was traumatic. It happened Uh, just months before I was gonna be married and right after I graduated, so it was a time in my life where, um, I had direction in front of me. I had goals and everything was taken from me,” she said.<\/p>\n
Diane Nelson is the executive director with the Children’s Coalition of Aransas County said the room will included several activities and comfort items.<\/p>\n
“Imagine how scary that would be, especially for a child, but even for an adult you’re sitting in this courtroom, you’re facing the perpetrator of, of the abuse that you’ve received, so much tension, so much additional trauma just going through reliving the things that happened to you, and so this room is gonna give them a place where they can breathe. Where they can relax,” Nelson said.<\/p>\n
In addition to the soft room, the new courthouse has a private hallway that connects to the room—something Judge Diana McGinnis said will give the survivors extra security.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0“In this new courthouse is these are private hallways that will take them around to their safe place to where they will never see their abuser as they’re coming into the courtrooms or into the courthouse,” McGinnis said.<\/p>\n
And this room is not just for children. It will be opened to adult survivors as well.<\/p>\n
“If you are a victim, you will be able to utilize the safe room and be able to be safe when coming into the courthouse regardless of what your the charges are against the abuser,” McGinnis said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bock said this room will make a difference for many.<\/p>\n
“They need it more than we can ever imagine. I think, I think that’s the most important thing and it goes beyond that room. It goes for years afterwards with providing the safety and security that the children need,” Bock said.\u00a0<\/p>\n