- November 17, 2024
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The following is an adapted news release from the Flagler County Communications Office:
Sally’s Safe Haven will open to the public and hold a dedication ceremony at 11:30 a.m. Monday, Dec. 8, at the Safe Haven facility at 103 State Road 100 in Bunnell, just west of the original Flagler County courthouse.
The facility will give parents in divorce cases where domestic violence has been an issue a safe place to exchange children for parental visits, with separate entrances for both parties, and offer counseling and other services to parents and children.
Now, parents drive to Daytona Beach to exchange children or meet at the flag pole in front of the Kim Hammond Justice Center in Bunnell.
“This is a major improvement for families, especially the children who find themselves in this situation,” County Commissioner Barbara Revels said. “Having the Safe Haven in our community will have an impact on outcomes of domestic violence and the children, who, through no fault of their own, are thrown into this situation.”
Supervised visitation services also allow child or adult victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, dating violence, or child abuse to have parent-child contact in the presence of an appropriate third-party supervisor.
The creation of a Safe Haven was made possible through a $400,000 grant from the Office of Violence Against Women.
The Safe Haven is named after Deputy Flagler County Administrator Sally Sherman, who worked with Revels and others to get the federal grant and a county facility in which to operate the program.
The need for the program was identified by Judge Raul Zambrano as part of the Public Safety Coordinating Committee, a committee of law enforcement representatives and members of the judiciary and the legal system. The Children’s Home Society will operate the program on behalf of Flagler County.
The public is encouraged to attend the event and bring an unwrapped gift for a child of any age.
