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February 16, 2008 - Clarion Herald
Family Justice Center seeks to aid abused women
By Christine Bordelon
Service providers coming together to meet the needs of adult and child victims of family violence or sexual abuse is the essence of the six-month-old New Orleans Family Justice Center. It’s an alternative to survivors making multiple stops to the police department, court and elsewhere, often with children in tow.
“The concept of the Family Justice Center is to centralize the services and make it easier for the survivor to navigate the system,” Lanaya Willliams, administrative assistant, said. “When (a survivor) walks through the door, she can get everything in one place.”
Clients fleeing abusive situations will quickly notice the center’s serene environment. Receptionist and intake screener Sharon Henry sets the tone with a warm welcome, offer of food and refreshments and reassurance that clients are in a safe place.
“The first step is to give a person a sense of calm, a sense of peace and a sense of hope,” interim center coordinator Theresa Marchese said. “It’s a spirit we want to create for the individuals. We recognize that there are many services an individual may need.”
Center empowers women
The center then empowers women with options and compassionate guidance, intake coordinator Rachelle Thomas said.
“I think the benefit of this is you give the women an opportunity to get out of an abusive environment and to start a new beginning in a safe environment,” Thomas said. “You can then coordinate services, linking survivors to the services she thinks she needs.”
The center officially opened in late August 2007 and has already provided close to 400 services for 85 clients.
The project was spearheaded by Mary Claire Landry, director of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services for Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans. She wrote the concept paper for the center, then worked with U.S. Attorney Jim Letten’s office and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women to secure a $3 million grant from the Justice Department.
The city of New Orleans lent its support with office space in a former 1858 firehouse at 830 Julia St., in close proximity to the court system. An alliance team from the San Diego Family Justice Center helped develop the local model.
“Mary Claire has taken it from (a place where) a person goes for shelter to building a multitude of social services through Crescent House,” Marchese said. “Our job is to give information.”
Strength in partnerships
Through partnerships, the center offers social services from Catholic Charities’ Crescent House Healing and Empowerment Center including free counseling, emergency and other housing, transportation, case management, free legal services through Project SAVE, medical advocacy, spiritual support and links to a host of other resources.
In addition, court (municipal, civil and district) advocates, immigration advocates, legal services through other partners such as New Orleans Legal Assistance, and New Orleans Police Department advocates are available. Even childcare is offered while a client does initial intake.
The leading service sought at the center is a protective restraining order against an abuser. The center has the protective order paperwork and walks clients through the filing process. The on-site New Orleans Police Department advocate updates individuals on their cases.
“A lot of times, they don’t understand the process, what steps the officers took so we direct them to the appropriate place to get help,” Dr. Nicole Gouch, a former NOPD domestic violence officer and staff clinical sexologist, said.
This month, two other service providers will join the Family Justice Center. One is Harmony House, a supervised visitation center where parents with joint custody issues can safely exchange their children, and the other is the Child Advocacy Center, an entity of the Audrey Hepburn Care Center at Children’s Hospital, which will provide counseling for children. By March, the office should be fully functional with 25 service providers in place.
This is only Phase I of the Family Justice Center.
“If the model is successful, we hope to have other sites in the community, not only in Orleans but neighboring parishes,” Marchese said.
The Family Justice Center is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and can be reached at (504) 592-4005. A 24-hour emergency hotline is answered through Crescent House at (504) 866-9554. |
