Knoxville Family Justice Center Celebrates Five Years

May 20, 2011
By Brittany Bailey

Years ago, when Fran Martin was ready to leave an abusive relationship, she had few places to turn.

"I only had my mother, and, thank goodness, she did give me and my children a place to come to," she said.

These days, Martin is volunteering at the Family Justice Center, where thousands of East Tennessee victims have turned to for help - more than 9,000 over its five years in existence.

"My son asked me one time, he said, 'why do you volunteer,' he said, 'when you can go out and get a paying job,' and I said, 'well, it's not always about the money,' I said, 'it's really, besides helping them, it really helps my soul when I go home and I think about their troubles, I don't have any troubles, you don't have any troubles when you hear their troubles,'" Martin said.

The Family Justice Center brings together several organizations, including the Knoxville Police Department, Knox County Sheriff's Office, YWCA, district attorney, Legal Aid of Tennessee and The Salvation Army, under one roof.

That way, victims can go to one location to get all of the information and resources they need. They can even apply for a warrant via telecommunication.

"It is better because a victim doesn't have to drive all over town, it's better because those working together are side by side and learning together and growing together," said Amy Dilworth, executive director of the Family Justice Center.

The center marked its five-year anniversary on Thursday, and Dilworth says she's been impressed at the efforts of all the organizations coming together.

"This is a great place for people to be involved from the community because this isn't the victim's issue and the abuser's issue, this is our issue, it affects every part of the community, and so we all have to be a part of the solution, and the volunteers who come here get that, and they are a part of the solution," Dilworth said.

Pat Boorse has been working with domestic violence victims for 16 years. She now works as a victim advocate for the YWCA's domestic violence program.

"The community thinks that they know what domestic violence is, and they think it is that somebody has bruises, somebody's been beat up and then they have to get an order of protection or they have to get a warrant against somebody," Boorse said. "They are not aware of the emotional abuse, which, after working with women for a lot of years, they say, 'I wish somebody would punch me in the eye - that bruise goes away, but that emotional abuse just never goes away.'"

Boorse now works one-on-one with the victims, pointing out that she never tells them what to do, she only shares information about their options and answers whatever questions they may have.

"I think all you have to do is see one success story, that you have helped one client, that she has had the strength to get out of an abusive situation, she has taken advantage of all the community resources that are available to her, she comes up against a brick wall and she's able to fight it and go beyond it and finally reach that point where she is a survivor, and that makes it all worthwhile," she said.

To contact the Family Justice Center, call (865) 521-6336.