Resource center to pursue innovation in justice for domestic violence victims | Non-Profit

Denton County Friends of the Family began discussing the center in early 2020, but plans were delayed due to the pandemic, said Lori Nelson, the nonprofit’s director of community engagement.

The victims’ advocacy agency received a four-year planning grant from the U.S. Office on Violence Against Women in 2021 and plans to bring the center to fruition by the end of the grant period, Nelson said.

The center will be built on 7 acres of land near North Bonnie Brae Street at Riney Road. The land was donated by the J. Newton Rayzor Foundation.

The center will serve as a space for multiple agencies and services addressing domestic violence to centralize their efforts and streamline communication.

Often, transportation is a barrier to victims, Nelson said. With the county growing exponentially, Denton is in greater need of a one-stop shop for domestic violence resources, she said.

“We don’t want receiving services in Denton County to be a barrier,” Nelson said. “The county’s growing and it’s pretty widespread. And public transportation, while it exists all over the county, is still kind of fuzzy. If we can provide the services that victims need in one space, we’ve eliminated several barriers.”

Having all of the resources a victim needs in one place is critically important to the victim’s safety, said Ken Shetter, who serves as the national director of the Family Justice Center Alliance.

“A fundamental aspect of the power and control of domestic violence is control of the victim’s mobility,” Shetter said. “This often means either the victim is not allowed to have their own vehicle or their abuser is keeping close tabs on every mile the victim travels.”

Seeking help is extremely dangerous, Shetter said, citing that most victims of domestic violence who are killed previously made attempts to leave the relationship.

“It’s not just for the convenience of a victim that we co-locate agencies and services,” he said. “It’s a matter of life safety. Because we know if we make them go to even two or three places, it’s much harder to hide that.”

When you have dozens of agencies across a county, it can be confusing to victims to figure out which ones would best suit their needs, Shetter said. And often there is overlap in what the agencies provide.

“To serve this person with these really complicated needs, it can be more effective if agencies are actually collaborating and strategizing together about what is the best way to get this person where they need to be,” he said.

Agencies like Denton Police Department’s entire family violence unit have already committed to relocating to the new center. And there are plans for the district attorney’s domestic violence unit and United Way of Denton County to have offices in the center as well.

Nelson said Friends of the Family also plans to have a courtroom at the center. While others have mock courtrooms to familiarize clients with legal proceedings, Nelson said this would function as an actual courtroom.

Staley Heatly, district attorney for the 46th Judicial District, has founded domestic violence intervention and prevention programs and task forces. He was Texas Prosecutor of the Year in 2017 and has authored a manual for domestic violence investigation and prosecution.

Heatly said family justice centers are a tried and true way to address domestic violence.

“The family justice center concept has been widely recognized as being extremely effective,” he said. “I think it would be incredible for Denton County to have a family justice center and I hope the movement expands across the state.”

Family justice centers “reduce homicide, increase victim safety, increase autonomy and empowerment for victims, … increase efficiency in collaborative services, increase prosecution of offenders and dramatically increase community support,” according to a brochure from Friends of the Family.

Being in close proximity to law enforcement and prosecutors can lead to a deeper level of investigation, Nelson said. The relationship advocates can build with these agencies when they’re face to face is much deeper than if they’d been emailing back and forth about a case, she said.

“When you’re working a case with someone and you can sit face-to-face with them in their office just down the hall, the collaboration is so significant,” Nelson said. “The ability to provide services for the victim when you know more about how the investigation is going can change the pace.”

Legal proceedings aren’t the only side of victim advocacy. Friends of the Family wants the new center to be rife with opportunities for their clients, Nelson said.

The first step of that is housing. Nelson said this is the priority for construction. The center will include 70 beds across apartment-style and communal-style spaces to house both victims and their children.

“We are really trying to do state-of-the-art,” Nelson said. “Most family justice centers do not have the shelter component, and I can’t think of another family justice center that has apartments as part of the center plans. [Instead of] networking with apartment providers throughout the county, we’ll be able to offer them on-site at the family justice center.”

But lack of alternative housing isn’t the only thing that might prevent a victim of domestic violence from leaving. Some victims feel they can’t leave their abusive environment because they fear for a family member or pet they’d have to leave behind.

Several studies document a link between domestic violence and animal maltreatment. A 2017 study published by Violence Against Women cites how interpersonal violence perpetrators use pets as a coercive tool, and the study found that concern for pets often influenced victims to stay with or return to an abuser.

But the new center includes plans to build an on-site animal shelter. Shetter said he doesn’t know of another family justice center that has its own pet shelter as part of its operation.

“That is a huge deal,” Shetter said. “There are a lot of people that just absolutely will not leave if they can’t take their pet.”

Other aspects of the center are aimed at providing victims who may have otherwise been dependent on their abusers with opportunities for independence.

The center will offer a full commercial kitchen for both those providing services and victims. Nelson said this will double as a job-skill learning space, where victims can get job experience.

There will also be a child care center and salon space where victims could seek employment. Nelson said the agency wants to partner with a cosmetology school to provide training.

“We want to look at ways where we’re beyond just providing housing or shelter or victim services,” Nelson said. “We also want to be providing those opportunities for upskilling or job experiences for our clients because that helps with their stability and independence and, ultimately, their safety.”

To make the project a reality by 2026, Nelson emphasized community support. Friends of the Family has a whole slew of partners they intend to have join them at the center, Nelson said, including nearly 40 law enforcement jurisdictions, food pantries, the Children’s Advocacy Center for Denton County, interfaith ministries and more.

“It’s absolutely a collaborative effort,” Nelson said. “We are really working with our partners that are going to co-locate about what they need. It’s still very much a work in progress and very collaborative. I think that’s what makes family justice centers different.”