Family Justice Center in Pinellas County sees 60% increase in domestic violence survivors wanting services
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - In just four months of being open, the new Family Justice Center by CASA saw a 60% increase in domestic violence survivors asking for services in Pinellas County.
"Before the opening of the Family Justice Center, a survivor would need to visit CASA, and then maybe go to the police station or maybe the state’s attorney’s office or get mental health support," said Lariana Forsythe, the CEO for Community Action Stops Abuse (CASA). "Now all of those services are provided in one place."
Family Justice Center by CASA provides wrap-around services to abuse victims and their families in Pinellas.
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"We’re seeing an average of about 50 clients every single week, coming into the family justice center alone, and that doesn’t include our other services like our shelter services," said Forsythe.
Woman answers domestic abuse calls.
Forsythe said they are only scratching the surface since domestic abuse often goes unreported.
"The demand as people learned about the Family Justice Center concept has grown exponentially," said Forsythe. "We’re seeing a 60% increase over this time last year in the number of survivors we’re serving."
CASA solely serves the survivors and their families. As for the abusers, the state of Florida uses a batterers' intervention program for those convicted.
"Abusers absolutely do need assistance and support to understand what are abusive behaviors. It’s something that we don’t talk about," said Forsythe.
Family Justice Center by CASA provides wrap-around services to abuse victims and their families in Pinellas County.
But a first-of-its-kind helpline founded in Massachusetts is opening up that conversation to people around the country. A Call for Change Helpline is a free, voluntary and confidential helpline for abusers who want to change.
"People call, because they want to be different. They call ready to start talking. They don't tell the whole story of first, but they call with some readiness," said JAC Patrissi, co-founder of A Call for Change Helpline.
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Patrissi said they started the helpline during the pandemic when domestic violence calls surged nationwide.
Family Justice Center by CASA
"So we tried to think of solutions that stopped asking survivors to do more work, and that actually started to interrupt the harm at its root with the people causing harm," said Patrissi. "People started calling us within days from all over the country and also from other countries."
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Patrissi is an abuse survivor and expert in anti-violence work for over 30 years, so she said she wanted to do something different to focus on safety and help abusers recognize their actions of harm and control.
"I think of it like the callers are like people who running a race or a marathon," said Patrissi. "We don't know how good shape they're in. We don't know how long they're going to run. We do know if they're thirsty, we have a cup of water. And we do know the cup of water helps you if you're thirsty when run in a race."
A Call for Change Helpline is a free, voluntary and confidential helpline for abusers who want to change.
Patrissi said the helpline’s scope for intervention is narrow, but she said it’s another tool toward domestic violence prevention.
Patrissi said the helpline received 500 calls so far in less than two years, and they expected around 50 calls in their first year.
CASA said the center expected around 40% more people to come into the Family Justice Center, but it ended up being a 60% increase.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline for help is 800-799-SAFE (7233).