Shaheena Haque said The Child Abuse Prevention Center’s move to 1529 Walnut St. was expensive, but worth it. Space for the center’s programs has been doubled.

“The morale of the staff is different – it did feel very good to move here,” said Haque, center director. “In the old building, we were stacked on top of one another – rubbing elbows.”

With financial help from local businesses, the center and its 11-person staff moved in October to its new location from 2732 Washington St.

The center, a United Way agency, was created in 1985 by the Exchange Club of Vicksburg as a means of heading off as many potential child abuse cases in Warren County as possible. Its services have since extended to Claiborne County.

“We’re still providing the same services – not only intervention, but preventive measures to improve the quality of family life,” Haque said.

Some of the services the center provides are parent education, a home visitor program, conflict resolution, supervised visitation to parents whose children are no longer in their custody and teen pregnancy prevention.

Although most of the services are done in the field, the new building – close to 4,000 square feet – will allow more programs and staff. It also is more accessible to the more than 200 center clients.

“We have family support groups that meet here every Thursday and child care, which is a nurturing curriculum that goes hand-in-hand with what the parents are being taught,” Haque said.

The building even has a kitchen, which will allow volunteers to teach parents to prepare nutritional meals, Haque said. Michael Nassour, owner of Canufly Internet Service Provider and landlord to the nonprofit organization, has also allowed use of his high-speed Internet service.

“The location itself is very visible,” Haque said. “There’s more space – more people can come in – and, there’s room to grow.”

The rent on the building that is shared with Nassour’s company, is paid by grants from the Mississippi Department of Human Services, the Mississippi Department of Mental Health and the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, the three organizations that help fund the center.

The center will celebrate its 20th anniversary in April.