| Shawna Morrison

shawna.morrison@roanoke.com, 381-1665

Less than two years after Safe Haven Child Visitation Centers of the New River Valley opened the doors of its Pulaski site, the nonprofit has branched out to Christiansburg.

The new site, at the old Christiansburg Middle School at 208 College St., will help families that were traveling to Pulaski from areas that include Elliston and Floyd and Giles counties for supervised visitation or to exchange children, said Safe Haven's program director, Ellen Mitchell.

"It was fast and it was furious," Mitchell said of opening the Christiansburg site Nov. 1.

Just three months ago, Safe Haven had no location, funding or volunteers for the new site.

Safe Haven is a nonprofit organization that provides a safe place for children to have supervised visits with their noncustodial parents and for parents to exchange their children without having to see each other.

Most of the 40 families served by Safe Haven have been court-ordered to go there for exchanges or visitation, Mitchell said. Fees are based on income.

Trained volunteers monitor each visitation or exchange and take notes. Mitchell said Safe Haven is looking for volunteers for both its sites and plans an orientation and training session from 1 to 5 p.m. today at the Christiansburg site. Volunteers must be at least 21 years old and ideally will have experience in child care or development, Mitchell said.

Before the site opened in Montgomery County, the Safe Haven site across from the Pulaski County Courthouse was the only such place in the 27th Judicial Circuit, which includes the counties of Bland, Carroll, Floyd, Giles, Grayson, Montgomery, Pulaski and Wythe, and the cities of Radford and Galax.

Mitchell said the Pulaski site, which opened in January 2008, will still serve as Safe Haven's main office. All intakes will be conducted there before families are referred to the new site.

Anyone interested in volunteering at Safe Haven should contact Mitchell at 808-0096 or safehaven86@yahoo.com.