December 15, 2002
Gail Kerr
Staff Writer, The Tennessean
Mary Parrish Center has soothed hundreds of hurt souls.
Nineteen hundred and six.
That's how many people the Mary Parrish Center has helped since it opened. Because of this safe place — where practical assistance is given to domestic violence victims — 1,906 people got a chance to get their lives back.
"If you were coming here for help, the first thing we would do is ask you if you are hungry or thirsty," said Valerie Wynn, executive director.
Hot tea, milk and cookies are a way to soothe the battered souls and bodies of the adults and children who have managed to flee for their lives.
"Leaving is not an event," Wynn said. "It's a process. It's, 'Do I have the money?' It's, 'Are the kids going to be OK?' It's, 'Do I have a car?' Every sense of dignity has been destroyed. They have not been allowed to make decisions in years."
The Mary Parrish Center opened last February at 131 Second Ave. N., which is close to the courts and bus stops. A sign in Night Court now refers every person who needs a legal protective order to the center. Once you arrive, a locked elevator keeps the bad guys out.
The clients are mostly battered women, but there also are abused men and families facing problems. After the milk and cookies, the hard work begins: a lengthy questionnaire and a session where the staff is vividly frank about the chances of living through the next violent episode. They ask, "What do you need?" You name it, and the center tries to find it.
It's a "whatever it takes" operation. Clients have slept on the sofa. One little boy slept on the floor with his arms around the office dog, Audrey, for five hours. The staff shower has been used by many.
The center is warm and friendly. There's a playroom full of toys and books. "Donation" closets are full of clothes and car seats and bars of soaps. A paralegal works tirelessly to notarize and fax the paperwork for orders of protection. If an arrest warrant is needed, as is often the case, a police officer comes to the victim at the center.
"The most important thing, when you deal with people who have been abused, is to help them restore their dignity," Wynn said. "When they are in front of you, you have to give them your whole being. You give everything to the person that is in front of you, then you close the page, and you get ready for the next person."
Wynn started the center to honor her mother-in-law, who was battered. Parrish, Wynn said, managed to raise five terrific kids despite what they saw growing up. Wynn's goal is to help victims learn they can find a life of peace too.
No question, it's intense work. But there have been successes. A woman fled her violent home with her 8-year-old son. They lived in her car for a year. The center fed them, got them a hotel room, and helped them find and furnish an apartment.
"She had nothing," Wynn said. "I brought her a sponge. I think about this so much as we move through Christmas. She was so excited to have a sponge."
The Mary Parrish Center needs your help. It operates "on a wing and a prayer," Wynn said, mostly the latter. Donations are tax deductible. Mail donations to the Mary Parrish Center, 131 Second Ave. N., Suite 500, Nashville, TN 37201, or call 256-5959.
There are 1,906 very good reasons to help.
Back to top
|
