In Tough Times, West Tampa Shines


 (Continued from page 10)
on the door and ask how
much they want for it.
 Other families who ben-
efited from the project are
still reaping from the rewards.
The Rangel family developed a
friendship with the contractor
assigned to their home. Their
eldest daughter, Evelyn, men-
tioned she was studying to
become a nurse and that she
was working full time to pay
for her schooling. The con-
tractor was once in the medi-
cal field and called a friend at
St. Joseph's to secure Evelyn


an interview and a job.
 Mrs. Nieves is proud to be
a part of the community that
gave up so much to help her
out. She believes that this
project was truly heaven-sent.
 Another hugely positive
organization standing up for
West Tampa is Mary Lee's
House. Mary Lee's House
was started in 1998 by Mary
Lee Nunnally Farrior. She
established Reach Out Com-
munity Services. Later, with
much effort and help from the
community, a unique place
where child abuse victims


can go and representatives
from many disciplines work
together for children to offer
help, care about under one
building. Previously, children
would have to go the police
office, the hospital and other
social agencies, which spread
them out all over the place at
a traumatic time. Mary Lee's
House lessens the trauma
and helps the process go
smoothly.
 Their business model is
simple. They are a nonprofit
organization and they make
their money by renting out


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Mary Lee's House is a perfect example of the positive
impact of people coming together to address a difficult
issue in West Tampa. It is a child advocacy center, with


all the necessary services
under one roof.
the rooms upstairs. The part-
ners have worked together
since the start of Mary Lee's
House to increase the number
of child abuser convictions,
file more cases and raise more
awareness about the issue.
 "The whole community has
embraced us. There's definite-
ly a pride here in West Tampa.
It's nice because the whole
community comes together to
address an uglier issue. We
are the only business in town
who would like to put the up-
stairs out of business," said
Lisa Colen, executive director
of Mary Lee's House.
 The upstairs part of the
building is rented out for
medical exams, for the au-


for victims of child abuse

They work with USF, the in-
vestigations office for the
Tampa Police Department, the
 Children's Justice Center, the
 Crisis Center, Healthy Start
 and the 13th District Judi-
 cial Court. They are all local
 and all provide a strong core
 within West Tampa, bringing
 a positive effort against child
 abuse.
 "There's an exponential ef-
 fect with what we're doing,"
 Colen said.
 Mary Lee's House recently
 partnered with West Tampa
 Little League and held a com-
 munity event to reach out to
 the schools and children of.
 the community. It gave them
 a chance to embrace the com-


The street rail lines are seen here in 1911 running east
on Main Street and south down Howard Avenue. De-
velopment in West Tampa began iri 1892 when Hugh
Macfarlane founded the town. The rail line increased
growth and businesses began to pop up. Cigar facto-
ries were built and workers moved from Ybor City to
start a new life and contribute to the town's growth.
The sleepy little town of West Tampa would never be
the same. This photo is from the collection of the Burgett
Brothers Photographic Archives.


thority's interviewing process
with children and a num-
ber of other things necessary
in tracking and eradicating
child abuse. They are a close
knit company. They all have
the same goal in mind. The
location is central, medically
based and has equal access
from downtown and hospitals.
They have employees from all
over who have never lived nor
worked in West Tampa yet en-
joy spending time in the area.
 "We help the local econo-
my because we have catered
events and we have over 100
professionals eating and
shopping," Colen said.
 They have a strong connec-
tion with the rest of Tampa,
unlike any other business.


munity and for them to come
and see what West Tampa is
all about.
 "Things like this seem like
a bad issue to talk about, but
it is also a good thing that im-
proves the community," Colen
said.
 West Tampa expanded
just as it is being began by
people diving in and starting
things in a grass roots effort
to build the ideal town.
 The main driving force and
idea behind West Tampa is
the fact that citizens of the
area are proud of their roots
and the area they live in. They
live and work there and they
are determined to show it, to
make West Tampa a place of
pride and happiness.


LA GACETA/Friday, May 8; 2009/Page 11 Section B