Published December 28, 2022
By: Macy Moors
HENRICO, Va. (WWBT) - With comfortable chairs, blankets, chosen artwork and essential oils, the new ‘soft interview room” is now open at Henrico Police Headquarters.
Henrico Police Division Captain Lauren Nobles says the design helps make victims more comfortable while sharing details about a traumatic event with police as they investigate a case.
“Having anything that can be the most remote, more inviting is the key, is going to what allows us in law enforcement to help the victim,” Nobles said.
Rooms like this are being installed across the country, and Tracy Matheson is the leader behind these efforts.
The room is the 58th soft room Matheson has helped install since they started the initiative back in 2019.
She says they also have rooms at FMI, Charlottesville District Attorney’s Office, Loudon County Sheriff’s Office and others. Matheson created a non-profit called Project Beloved after her 22-year-old daughter Molly was raped and killed in 2017.
“Unfortunately, it is a crime type that is kept private because oftentimes victims feel like reporting it, whether to law enforcement, to a friend, to a family member, they feel like too much is at risk because they’re going to be blamed, shamed and not supported,” Matheson said.
Matheson says she’s received tons of donations from the community to help fund this initiative over the years.
She says she’ll continue to empower sexual assault victims in honor of her daughter.
“Molly was someone who believed in the good of people, she was a friend to everyone, she was always for the underdog, she would fight for any cause she believed in, and I know if she was here, she would be here with me doing this work,” Matheson said.
Matheson says they’ve already begun planning installations across the country starting next year.