Domestic violence survivor Aidee Portillo Fernandez stood stoically before a roomful of South County media, law enforcement and nonprofit representatives as she described the horror her former spouse once inflicted on her.
“My abuser tried to kill me three times,” Portillo Fernandez said in Spanish at the July 23 grand opening of the Santa Clara County Family Justice Center. “I wanted my children to heal.”
Portillo Fernandez continued to describe how, once her abuser was in custody, it was inconvenient to travel to multiple offices throughout Santa Clara County to seek victim services and protection from her former spouse.
The new Family Justice Center, located at the offices of Community Solutions, 16264 Church St. in Morgan Hill, is designed to help alleviate that burden. The center, established as a pilot program in April, serves as a one-stop-shop for domestic violence victims to gain access to all the services they need—from advocacy and case planning to filing restraining orders.
“Frequently, survivors come into our office and have concerns about their partner’s probation, violation of restraining orders or general questions about a criminal case so they can better plan for their safety,” said Perla Flores of Community Solutions. “By bringing all (the participating agencies) under one roof, we can do that all during one visit here at one location. It’s kind of a wrap around model that is intended to best support survivors, and it’s convenient to them.”
More importantly, Flores said, the Family Justice Center offers a “transformative” and victim-centered approach to domestic violence. The participating agencies—which have always helped with victim assistance but not necessarily under one roof—share “the same mission and philosophy in how we’re going to support the families affected by domestic violence.”
The geographic location of the Family Justice Center in South County is not a coincidence. Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen, who spoke at the July 23 press conference, said South County faces a higher per-capita rate of domestic violence cases than other areas of the county.
In 2013, Rosen’s office filed more than 240 domestic violence cases in South County, he said.
“It is now much easier for victims to access services,” Rosen added.
Flores added that Community Solutions serves about 1,500 domestic violence victims per year, though she doesn’t expect the Family Justice Center to serve that many for the foreseeable future.
Also present at the July 23 press conference were representatives of the many partners who staff and support the Family Justice Center. These include the Morgan Hill and Gilroy police departments, sheriff’s office, D.A.’s office, county probation, Family Social Services, Victim Witness Services, Supervisor Mike Wasserman’s office, Community Solutions, and the Step Forward Foundation, a nonprofit that supports victims in need of immigration related services.
MHPD’s on-site law enforcement partner at the Family Justice Center is Det. Mindy Zen, a 17-year police veteran. Zen currently investigates and follows up on domestic violence cases in both Morgan Hill and Gilroy, and serves on the Police-Victim Advocacy Committee and the Domestic Violence Death Review Team. She also trains officers and service providers on issues of domestic violence.
Rosen added that the creation of the Family Justice Center was not expensive. Funding included the rental cost for the Community Solutions office, and staffing is provided by the different agencies participating in the center.
Those supporting the Family Justice Center and domestic violence victims also praised the cooperative spirit that made the service center a reality.
“There is absolutely a can-do and entrepreneurial spirit in South County,” Rosen said July 23. “We are in the works of replicating this in North County.”
The Family Justice Center is currently open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every Wednesday, and has served 39 individual family violence survivors, Flores said. In the long term, the Family Justice Center’s goal is to find a larger facility to support the growing need for its services all over the county.
