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Center's Demise Bad News For Hurt Families
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Published: January 30, 2008
It's called the Family Justice Center. I'm not sure justice is the=20
appropriate word, but whatever they want to call it, it's about to =
disappear.=20
The facility, which serves as a
To get a sense of the place, let me just tell you a little about = Dinah. She=20 has a couple of kids in Hillsborough County schools, and life is tough = enough=20 for these two.
For most of us, except for a few credit card bills, Christmas is =
already a=20
memory. Not Dinah. It was
Details aren't important, except that
There was a physical=20
struggle as the husband smashed a cell phone when
The Aftermath
That was all more than a year ago. Today, their house has been sold. =
The=20
ex-husband, who lost his job, pays no support but lives on the street =
and in=20
shelters. Dinah has =
an=20
apartment and works in a
"I wouldn't have made it at all without the Family Justice Center." =
she says.=20
"The center connected me with Bay Area Legal services, who were right =
there. I=20
couldn't afford food, and
"I think you don't appreciate what it is like when you are in a = crisis to=20 have everything in one place. You don't have to go across the county = from one=20 agency to another, giving your same story over and over, trying to get = the=20 services you need."
It Removes The Barriers
I was at the center in October when they were celebrating their = one-year=20 anniversary in the sprawling facility that is part of an old mall on = Florida=20 Avenue.
Staffed by professional counselors and with representatives of = agencies from=20 elderly services to one that helps find transportation, it helps to = literally=20 remove a series of barriers for people in crisis. Representatives from = the=20 governor's office, the city and the county were all there. The woman = from the=20 governor's office had herself been a victim of domestic violence and = shed tears=20 as she talked about the value of the place.
These are tight times. The federal grant that floated them for almost = 16=20 months has run out. Several other foundation grants have not come = through. It=20 will take around $350,000 to keep the doors open until fall, when they = will be=20 eligible for United Way money, and that is not guaranteed.
To allow this facility to go under would be unconscionable. More than = 10,000=20 cases of domestic violence were reported last year in the county alone. = So far,=20 state and local governments have been unable to figure out what to do. = The only=20 funding that has remained intact has been a grant from The Children's = Board. The=20 silence out there is deafening.
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