Family Justice Center Dying For A Patron

Published: Jan 25, 2008

For the past 16 months, the Family Justice Center has provided one-stop services for the victims of domestic violence, helping them find the support and direction needed to start their lives anew.

Now the fledgling agency needs rescuing.

The center - one of just 15 in the nation - has become a casualty of tight financial times. The federal grant that initiated the program has run out.

On Feb. 8, the center will shut its doors unless it finds a champion in this community. Victims of domestic violence will once more face the daunting challenge of having to navigate the courts and social services for help.

Nikki Daniels, the center's executive director, says supporters went to Tallahassee to seek continued funding and went to Washington in hopes of finding another grant. They have knocked at the doors of local foundations and charities in hopes of keeping the lights on.

What they need is $350,000 to continue services until the fall. Once the center marks its second year in operation, it becomes eligible to apply for local United Way or Hillsborough County social services grants.

The center, located on north Florida Avenue, puts representatives of more than 30 agencies under a single roof for the sole purpose of getting abuse victims out of danger.

There victims can get counseling, legal services, job training, even the aid of a translator or transportation in a streamlined, efficient operation.

The difference between life and death for domestic violence victims often is a matter of eliminating the barriers - like transportation and housing - that keep them dependent on their abusers. The center has even played a role in keeping children out of foster care when their mothers were able to get out of abusive relationships with the center's help.

Some of the agencies that work at the center will face a double-whammy. They'll be forced to find office space they can ill afford.

Times are tough, but this community needs efficient and effective efforts like the Family Justice Center. Lives, quite literally, are at stake.