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The grand
opening of the Knoxville Family Justice Center was celebrated
today as a place where those affected by family violence can
more easily access the caring assistance they need to cope with
and leave abusive situations.
The center is a one-stop resource center, the
result of collaboration among 63 agencies in Knoxville,
including those focused on social services, law enforcement and
the criminal justice system.
“The Knoxville Family Justice Center provides one
telephone number and one place for service to make it easier for
those who need help to get it,” said Randy Nichols, Knox County
district attorney general and member of the center’s executive
board. “In addition, the center makes it easier for agencies to
provide help in efficient and effective ways through continued
cooperation and collaboration.”
The Knoxville Family Justice Center was one of only
15 nationwide out of 400 applications to receive funding from
the U.S. Department of Justice. The center is based on a highly
successful system developed and now in place in San Diego,
Calif. Knoxville was the only Tennessee city and one of the
smaller communities to receive the $1 million because of its
history of collaboration among agencies to end the cycle of
domestic violence.
Family violence is a Knoxville community problem
with local law enforcement responding to nearly 17,000 calls in
2005 – for an average of 46 per day – and more than 2,000 orders
of protection were issued. Three domestic violence homicides
were recorded in 2004.
The center will have nine agencies on-site including Child and
Family Tennessee, the Community Coalition on Family Violence,
Legal Aid of East Tennessee, the Salvation Army, YWCA, the
Knoxville Police Department and Knox County District Attorney,
Probation, and Sheriff’s Offices. Dozens more local government
and non-profit agencies are serving as off-site partners.
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