By Christian Potts
Since its first days, the work of the Mary Abbott Children's House has carried the same importance.
But the space and resources to carry out the duties has upgraded significantly. Once housed in a borrowed room on the University of Oklahoma campus being shared with the School of Social Work, the Mary Abbott House has added an expansion to its building at 231 E. Symmes St. that was dedicated Thursday afternoon.
"We are so lucky in our community to have the professionals to have the passion to make this happen," said Jeannine Baker, executive director of the Mary Abbott House.
The expansion more than doubles the space at the facility, which serves victims of child sexual and physical abuse by bringing together law enforcement, child welfare and any other professionals needed to make the investigation of cases as easy as possible for the children.
It was funded by an $800,000 capital campaign that originally had included the purchase of the original Victorian house that has housed the facility since 2000. But one year ago to the day of Thursday's dedication, Hiland Dairy Foods sold the deed to the original house for $1, setting further in motion the push to where the facility is today.
"This building and the building behind us, they're ours and that's the first time we can say that," said Mary Abbott board president Sean Crandall.
Cleveland County District Attorney Greg Mashburn attended Thursday's dedication and spread praise all around, from those who donated funds for the facility to those who built it to the Mary Abbott House staff.
"All of those efforts do not go unnoticed by the children who are served here," Mashburn said. "I know my office could not do our job without the job that is being done here."
Baker has seen all the organization's transition in doing that job since taking over her role in 1998. The organization moved into the original house two years later and as the public became aware of its purpose, the staff saw its workload keep going up.
"I don't think child abuse went up, but I think awareness went up," she said.
The expansion, which is connected to the north side of the original building, allows for many increased functions. There will be a second interview room and observation area, as well as a second family waiting area. That way, if multiple families are in the facility at the same time, their confidentiality still is kept, Baker said.
"It leaves the Victorian house as the more child-friendly space," she said.
While giving more area for families who find themselves in need of the facility, the expansion also has given the Mary Abbott staff a lot less cramped quarters for doing their work.
"I was sharing an office about half this size," said office manager Kathe Cantrell, gesturing into to her office along the north wall of the new building.
The expansion also features a medical room for examinations, something previously not able to be done at the house due to space restrictions, and a large training room used for meetings. That room is roughly five times the size of the room previously used for such meetings.
The facility is named for Dr. Mary Abbott, a longtime Norman pediatrician who spent many years pushing to help the needs of child abuse victims. She died in 2004.
Christian Potts
366-3544
cpotts@normantranscript.com
