Merryman House opens new playground

Community leaders and Chamber of commerce members joined the staff of the Merryman House Domestic Crisis Center to open a new playground on Monday.

An anonymous benefactor donated $62,000 for the new playground equipment that was installed in September.

Executive Director Mary Foley said hundreds of children will come through their doors this year, and many will bring hidden scars. She said the playground will allow the children to play and focus on being children, even if only for a brief time.

"They will be able to experience a space provided just for them, and feel the love that we hold for them," she continued.

The Merryman House is a non-profit corporation that has been serving the Purchase Region as the state-designated program and emergency shelter for hundreds of victims of spousal abuse since 1978.

It offers residential and non-residential programming. Merryman House serves hundreds of victims annually, and all services are free and confidential.

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, about one in 15 children are exposed to intimate partner violence annually, and 90 percent of those children are eyewitnesses to the violence.


(Photo Paducah Chamber of Commerce Facebook)