Office Offers Help for Victims of Abuse

February 13, 2011
buffalonews.com
 
Aasiya Hassan would have loved the quaint, white house on South Buffalo Street in Orchard Park.

The walls are painted warm colors, the couches are soft and cushy and there are toys for the little ones.

It is home to the new Southtowns satellite office for the Family Justice Center of Erie County, where victims of domestic violence and their children can come to get help — the kind of help that had eluded Aasiya.

Her abuse and horrific death came at the hands of her husband, Muzzammil, who now faces 25 years to life in prison when he is sentenced next month. An Erie County jury last week convicted him of murdering Aasiya on Feb. 12, 2009.

So, it was no coincidence that the Family Justice Center picked Saturday, the second anniversary of Aasiya’s death, to unveil its Southtowns Family Center at 4383 S. Buffalo St.

The satellite, after all, is in honor of Aasiya. Saturday was a tribute to her.

“This day is for you,” Mary Travers Murphy, executive director of the Family Justice Center, said during a brief ceremony in the Orchard Park Presbyterian Church, “and this satellite is here because of you.”

The Southtowns Family Center was spearheaded by Orchard Park religious leaders, after Aasiya’s death.

“We all came to agree that the faith community has not spoken enough, or loud enough, about the evil that is domestic violence,” said the Rev. Richard Young, pastor of the Orchard Park Presbyterian Church.

Young’s church owns the house next door, and last year the group of Orchard Park clergy came up with the idea of turning it into a satellite office for the Family Justice Center. More than $130,000 was raised for the project, and roughly 100 volunteers spent the past several months renovating it.

The church will lease the house to the agency for $1 a year. It is particularly important to have a satellite office in the Southtowns for those who don’t want to travel to the Family Justice Center, located in downtown Buffalo on Main and Seneca streets, Travers Murphy said.

Domestic violence victims won’t be housed in the satellite location, Travers Murphy said.

The Family Justice Center collaborates with 12 other agencies — including the police and Erie County District Attorney’s Office — serving as a one-stop to get domestic violence victims the services they need, such as counseling, legal assistance or emergency shelter.

The satellite office will be open from 8:30 a. m. to noon on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

About 200 people attended Saturday’s ceremony in Orchard Park Presbyterian Church, and then toured the satellite, which is near the 7-Eleven store that the Hassans owned.

One of those in attendance was Aasiya’s stepson, Michael, now 19.

He sat in the back of the church during the ceremony, then toured the new office. He declined to comment.

“She would absolutely love it,” said Dr. Khalid Qazi, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council of Western New York, and a friend of Aasiya.

“Any help we can provide to the victims is welcome,” Qazi said. “I’m so grateful to the Rev. Young, the Family Justice Center and all the volunteers who made this possible. It’s heartwarming.”