Justice for the Victims and Family
November 11, 2011
By Brian Livingston
MERIDIAN — Working hard in the background, members of the Earnest Workers Circles of the International Order of Kings Daughters and Sons have over the years contributed to the welfare of thousands of people in and around Meridian.
Thursday afternoon, the organization made yet another contribution that will go a long way in helping those victims of abuse and their families.
Inside The Wesley House Community Center, Virginia E. Hodges, president of the EWC, presented Neil Henry, treasurer of The Wesley House board, the parent agency of the Family Justice Center, with a check for $30,000. The donation will go to moving and placing two Katrina trailers on the grounds for police and emergency shelters as well as pay for the certification of the local center on the national level.
"This is seed money," says Hodges. "We hope this will get this center started and later on we will probably be involved as it gets going full swing."
The Family Justice Center is one of six underneath the overall agency roof of The Wesley House. Ginger Stevens, executive director for The Wesley House, says the EWC, along with Meridian and Lauderdale County residents, are some of the most giving in all of Mississippi.
"This donation is so representative of the kind of people we have living here in our area," says Stevens. "The ECW was also instrumental in helping us to begin the Child Advocacy program here shortly after Katrina."
The Family Justice Center will encompass all the needs an abused person and their family can receive under one roof. Accessibility is the name of the game.
"If a victim and their family come here seeking help, we want the entire scope of their needs to be handled right here," Stevens says. "That means medical, legal and police assistance. The victims are already traumatized enough as it is. We hope we can make them more comfortable here and meet their needs as well."
One example is the presence of law enforcement personnel in cases where abuse, whether it be domestic, child, elderly or sexual abuse, is believed to have occurred. Meridian Police Department Chief Lee Shelbourn says that is why the MPD will be placing officers and detectives at the Katrina trailer on the other side of the street in the event their expertise is requested.
"We are happy to lend our assistance," says Shelbourn.
The Order began on January 13th, 1886 in the New York City home of Margaret Bottome, a Methodist minister's wife. Today, Kings Daughters and Sons is comprised of about 5,000 members. Some of The King's Daughters and Sons circles support and/or own/run hospitals, homes for the elderly, thrift shops, and child care centers. Members contribute to various causes locally and world-wide.
