Thanks to a grant from the Shaquille O’Neal Foundation, local nonprofit, A Friend’s House will be getting a facelift. Demolition began on February 15 and included deputies from the Henry County Sheriff’s Office as one of their first major community outreach efforts. A Friend’s House Inc. is truly the house that Henry built in 1998 by concerned Henry County residents who decided to take a stand for abused, abandoned and neglected children. “This is just the beginning of many collaborative projects spearheaded by the Henry County Sheriff’s Community Relations Division directed by Dr. Shaquille O’Neal and the Shaquille O’ Neal Foundation,” said Sheriff Reginald B. Scandrett.

The makeover, funded by the foundation, will replace all the furniture in the 22-year old facility and install “Covid unfriendly floors” in place of the original carpeted surfaces. Nearly two dozen doors will be added to previously open rooms for residents’ privacy and thirty brand new televisions will be placed throughout the facility.

“This makeover project has been a long time coming and we here at A Friend’s House Inc. are extremely grateful to see this vision come to fruition,” said Executive Director Sandra Richardson. “The amazing generosity that Sheriff Scandrett and his team have shown the staff and young people here is beyond what words can describe.”