Lily Pad Opens a Trauma-Informed Room at the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office
A calm "soft room" inside the Sheriff's Special Victims Unit gives crime victims and children in crisis a gentler place for interviews and waiting. It is the first law-enforcement Lily Pad room in Spartanburg County.
The Woodruff Times reported on May 16, 2026 that the nonprofit Lily Pad: A Soft Place to Land and the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office have opened a trauma-informed room inside the Sheriff's Special Victims Unit. Here is our summary.
What it is: The room is a calm, comfortable space instead of a standard interview room. It has soft seating, weighted blankets, books and sensory tools. According to the paper, it will be used for victim interviews, for meetings with victim advocates and as a temporary place for children who are waiting to be picked up by the Department of Social Services.
Who made it: The room was built through a partnership between Lily Pad, co-founded by Jennifer Tice, and the Special Victims Unit, including Sgt. Sarah Arms. Sheriff Bill Rhyne attended the opening. Speakers at the ceremony, including a survivor who now works as an advocate, said that the setting where someone is met after a crime can shape how they heal.
About Lily Pad: The organization started in 2022 by turning child welfare offices in South Carolina into welcoming spaces for children entering foster care. The paper reports it has created more than 42 Lily Pad spaces statewide. This room is the first law-enforcement-based Lily Pad room in Spartanburg County and one of the group's first partnerships of this kind in the state.
Why it matters here: Woodruff is in Spartanburg County, and the Sheriff's Office serves the Woodruff area outside city limits. For the full story and photo, see The Woodruff Times.