New life is coming to the old Pearl River Valley Organization building as an expansion for Hattiesburg Youth Court system.
County and Youth Court Judge Carol Jones Russell said the court, which is now “trauma focused,” needs more space. The Forrest County Board of Supervisors recently voted on and approved the use of the old PRVO building as a place to house offices, visitation, mentor meeting, waiting and advocate space.
“We simply do not have the space in our courtroom as of right now to carry out these programs,” Russell said. “The former PRVO building, which I understand was previously designated for the usage of County and Youth Court, would help us extend our room to include space to help reduce trauma and also provide programs that would positively impact our kids and their families.”
The judge said she is most excited about the possibility of using the building for visitation between children in foster care and their families, as they are required to have a two-hour meeting once a month. She said having a visitation center would make for a more child-friendly environment. This will be the second visitation center in the state, the other being in Hancock County.
The building will also be used as a waiting room for families on court days. Russell said the courthouse has on average 100 people on court days which leads to a lot of congestion.
“Unlike Chancery Court and Circuit Court wherein folks can wait inside of the courtroom, Youth Court is confidential. No one can come into the courtroom unless it is your case being heard,” she said. “We have families, foster care parents, social workers, counselors; everybody is waiting outside in the lobby that is not quite big enough.”
The building is about a quarter of a mile from the court building, and families can wait there until their case is called. Russell said they would only have to notify the family to come to the court.
Not only will it serve as a visitation center and waiting room, but it will also serve as a meeting space for their mentorship program and the court-appointed special advocate program. Russell said the day children are supposed to meet with their mentors conflicts with the court's schedule, leaving them to wait in the drug court trailer.
She also mentioned using the building to house children instead of using annexes, which she said were comparable to regular jail cells with stone beds. The building will also be used for extra office space because they have run out of room for people in their current building.
“We are having folks doubled up in offices right now,” she said.
According to David Hogan, president of the Forrest County Board of Supervisors, the federal court building is technically for County and Youth Court, but the city approached the board about using it while building the new law enforcement complex.
“Eventually they will move into their new facility, and you will have the option of moving into that facility,” Hogan told Russell.
The city of Hattiesburg also approached the Board of Supervisors about using the old PRVO building, but Russell got her proposal in first. He said when the city gets out of the federal building, they will have the opportunity to use the old PRVO building.
“When you move over there (the federal court building), there will be an opportunity for (the city) to use that PRVO building, so I kind of put them on notice that this was coming,” Hogan said.
Josie Brown, supervising Community Coordinator at Zero to Three, said the children they work with come from the “worst-of-the-worst situations. They need the best-of-the -best services, so we can have more of the finest of the finest.”
