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For young children whose families are tied up in court hearings, sometimes nothing is more comforting than playing with other kids or crawling into a small, safe space.

In the Multnomah County Courthouse, in downtown Portland, children who may otherwise have to attend hearings can find respite in a former jury room that the Multnomah Bar Association converted into a free, drop-in child care center run by Volunteers of America.

Prior to a recent renovation, the room that houses the CourtCare program was functional, but somewhat sterile, according to Jessica Dunham, an interior designer with Yost Grube Hall Architecture. 鈥淚t had a kind of hospital waiting room feel about it,鈥� she said.

The project was initiated by Mary Rower, a paralegal at Markowitz, Herbold, Glade & Mehlhaf, who directed the remodel as part of the firm’s 25th anniversary in 2008. MHGM has contributed more than $15,000 so far, and individual members of the firm have donated an additional $4,000.

Yost Grube Hall contributed about $12,000 and more than 80 hours of design work toward the upgrade of the room that measures 10 feet by 12 feet.

Dunham’s design took into account the children’s psychological and safety needs. Green floors and a mural by Kari Dunham now brighten the atmosphere. In the middle of the room, a cylindrical piece of casework subdivides the space. Jessica Dunham hopes a crawl tunnel can serve as a safety area, exploration area or whatever suits the kids.

鈥淲e wanted to provide a place for the kids to explore and be curious,鈥� Jessica Dunham said. 鈥淲e also wanted to give them little nooks and a crawl space so that if they needed to be alone they could have that space.鈥�

From a practical standpoint, storage space was another priority for the project. CourtCare provides craft items, stuffed animals, books and toys 鈥� and all need to be stored safely when not in use. Changing the walls was not within the scope of the project, so the solution involved assembling three walls of floor-to-ceiling case work.

鈥淭he case work provides useful storage that the workers needed,鈥� Jessica Dunham said. 鈥淚t has soft lines and curved radiuses to soften the overall space.鈥�

Because it was built off-site and needed only to be assembled, the case work helped make the project’s construction schedule feasible. All work was completed over Memorial Day weekend so that CourtCare services could remain available as much as possible.

Jason Chupp, project manager for Howard S. Wright Constructors, estimated that his team donated 60 hours of management time, 30 hours of supervision time, and completed what normally would have been a two-week construction job in only three days.

鈥淚t took long days, starting on Friday and working 10 hours,鈥� Chupp said. 鈥淎t one point we had about six people in the room at one time, packed on top of each other, to get the work done.鈥�

Howard S. Wright leaned on subcontractors to donate materials or labor. Uncommon Cabinetry, Cochran Broadway Electric, Contract Flooring Consultants, Don Herbst Painting, Fred Shearer & Sons, 12.500 Commercial Window Coverings, Power Plumbing, Rose City Cabinets and Contemporary Home Services all made contributions.

鈥淥nce we explained to (the subcontractors) who the work was benefiting, people felt it was worth their time and effort to make it happen,鈥� Chupp said. 鈥淚t was an easy sell once we explained the project. People jumped on board.鈥�

Rower said the work raised awareness about CourtCare beyond the law firms that already raise the money needed to operate the facility.

鈥淯ntil now, if you stepped outside of the legal community, people didn’t know it existed,鈥� she said. 鈥淰endors gave substantial contributions, and now the architects and tradespeople involved know about it.鈥�

Project officials are still looking for nearly $10,000 in contributions to cover final costs.