VENTURA : Court Opens Waiting Room for Children

Children who have to testify in court will no longer have to spend the day waiting in a dull room with nothing to do.

After two months of collecting toys and furniture from area donors, the district attorney’s office has given a new look the children’s waiting room.

A mural depicting a grassy hillside by the beach, painted by a local artist, brightens one side of the room, while shelves are brimming with new toys.

“We wanted this to be a place where children wouldn’t be afraid to come,” said Kate McGoldrick, director of the district attorney’s Victim Services Division.

Last year, more than 1,000 children visited the division in the Government Center’s Hall of Justice in Ventura, McGoldrick said. Many of those children sought out the Wee Witness Waiting Room on the fourth floor while waiting to testify in court or before an interview with attorneys, she said.

“It’s really important to a child to have a place free from anxiety, especially when many of those who are here have experienced some sort of violence or sexual abuse in their home,” McGoldrick said.

Since the Victim Services Division announced earlier this year the need to renovate the scuffed-up waiting room, more than 40 residents, businesses and community organizations responded with board games, fire trucks, dolls, stuffed animals and books, she said.

One woman who requested anonymity donated $200 worth of toys after winning the California Lottery, McGoldrick said. Others provided money for new furniture and shelves.

“The response from the community has been absolutely tremendous,” she said.