Center for child abuse victims unveiled

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, child-abuse prevention advocates and others unveiled the $10 million Safe Shores Child Advocacy Center on Thursday, a facility where young victims and witnesses of abuse or violence can get services while they await court appearances, therapy and interviews.

The center, which is not a residential facility and will serve more than 850 children a year by appointment, was built in the former Bundy School on O Street NW. The city provided 70 percent of the funding, and nonprofit Safe Shores raised the rest, including a $600,000 grant from the Department of Justice, according to a news release.

The District's Department of Real Estate Services managed construction of the project.

"We're doing everything we can to fight child abuse in the nation's capital," Fenty (D) said in a news release. "This project is a national best practice in that for the first time we are bringing social workers, heath and mental health providers and law enforcement officials together under the same roof to provide services to victims in the safest, child-friendly environment possible."

-- Nikita Stewart