Family Justice Centers See 100 New Clients a Month Amid Spike in Family-Related Homicides

May 10, 2011
By Simone Weichselbaum

The city's Family Justice Centers - one-stop shops for domestic violence victims near the courts - are getting more than 100 new clients a month.

Since the first center opened in 2005, some 57,000 people have received help that includes legal advice on a cheap divorce and finding emergency housing.

In the first three months of the year, the number of people walking through the doors of centers in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx was up 9%.

Family-related homicides in New York City jumped 20%, from 62 in 2009 to 75 last year. There were 32 domestic slayings in the first four months of this year, police said.

In most cases, the victim had not made a report of abuse to police, said Commissioner Yolanda Jiménez of the Mayor's Office to Combat Domestic Violence.

"Oftentimes, the victims are looking to leave the relationship [and] leaving the relationship is a high-risk time," she said.

The idea behind the centers is to give at-risk spouses a chance to secure their safety before the situation turns fatal.

Staffers can help victims file a police report. Those reluctant to involve the NYPD can make a safety plan that includes steps such as having a friend visit at random times.

A 58-year-old Queens mom told the Daily News she was too scared to speak to cops. Instead, she's saving cash while completing a job training program set up by the Queens Family Justice Center.

"I am getting out. I am trying to prepare myself," the mother of two said. "It's like a war. I have to have weapons [so] I can go to battle in the court."

Each center costs $5 million to build and an additional $6 million a year to operate, yet they have a low profile.

Before she was killed, allegedly by her husband, Noor Hussain confided in women in her Brooklyn building but "they were scared to tell the authorities," said neighbor Muhammad Khan, 65, who had never heard of the centers.

"The city needs to advertise this," he said. "It will save lives."

Carmen Conie, 50, said her sister-in-law learned about the program from a health clinic and told her to check out the Bronx center after she shared details of fighting with her husband.

"The restraining order keeps him away for now," Conie said as she left her first session. "I'm an out-of-work nurse. If they can get me out of this marriage, which I can't afford to do, that's my goal."