Mission

The Family Justice Center of St. Joseph County is an innovative collaboration of civil, legal, medical, and social services whose expertise provides victims of domestic violence and their families multiple options to restore balance to their lives.

Purpose

The Family Justice Center of St. Joseph County serves as a one-stop help center for victims of domestic violence and their children. The FJC is made up of local non-profit and governmental agencies partnered together to help victims and their families quickly and confidentially seek information, and easily access resources to help them escape the cycle of violence. By having these services in one building, victims of domestic violence and their families can more easily receive the help they need. Before the FJC opened, the average individual trying to escape an abusive household had to seek assistance from 20 different locations. The FJC makes a victim's search for help and justice less burdensome.

Another component of the FJC is S-O-S, the rape crisis center for St. Joseph County. In this community since 1974, S-O-S provides 24-hour crisis intervention, support, and advocacy for victims of rape, child secual abuse, sexual harassment, and domestic violence. Hospital accompaniment at the area hospital emergency departments is offered with follow-up exams in the sexual assault treatment room at FJC. Support groups and counseling are available on-site. S-O-S also offers risk reduction programs to students in our community that address child sexual abuse, sexual assault, and domestic violence reaching over 20,000 students each school year. Presentations and trainings reach community groups, law enforcement and medical personnel rounding out S-O-S' comprehensive services.

History

The FJC received its start from a program, created under the administration of President George W. Bush, known as the Family Justice Center Initiative. This initiative began in October of 2003, as a program to start up and aid 15 different centers to serve victims of domestic violence throughout the country. In 2004, the Office of Violence Against Women identified St. Joseph County as the last of these 15 pilot sites nationwide, out of 400 applicants, to receive financial support from the federal government. The St. Joseph County Center officially opened its doors to the public on February 22, 2007 and since then has been helping to eradicate all forms of domestic violence

The Family Justice Center Services

Civil and legal services
Information regarding orders of protection
Crisis intervention
Forensic medical unit (coming soon)
Counseling for children, adolescents and adults
Substance abuse assessments
Supervised play room for children
Criminal investigations
Culturally and linguistically appropriate services
Employment and training assistance
Domestic violence advocacy
Spiritual care services

Staff

Director: Sareen Dale
Sareen Dale is a native to Northern Indiana who has spent over seven years working for area non-profits both in direct service and program management capacities. As director of the Family Justice Center of St. Joseph County, Sareen is responsible for programming and administration, including on-site services, partnerships and community outreach. She completed her undergraduate work at Goshen College and graduate degree at Indiana Wesleyan University. Her favorite aspect of being part of a Family Justice Center is the collaboration and cooperative spirit between agencies and entities as we work together to help survivors on their journey towards safety.

S-O-S Project Coordinator

Special Population and Risk Reduction Coordinator: Laura S.
Laura has been an S-O-S Advocate for just over 4 years and has now joined us as the new Special Populations and Risk Reduction Coordinator (SPARC). She will be doing Little Bear presentations in the local elementary schools, as well as other outreach presentations throughout the community. Laura is enjoying being able to work where her heart truly is, and we are glad to have her as part of the team. We are excited about her bringing Little Bear to elementary schools for the rest of this school year!

Executive Committee
Laurel Eslinger, President
Deborah Grounds, Treasurer
Sharon Burden, Secretary
Michael A Dvorak

Board Members
Candace Andresen - Emergency Care Center Director, Memorial Hospital
Sharon Burden - Executive Director, Alcohol and Additions Resource Center
Mary Butiste-Jones - Staff Attorney, Indiana Legal Services, Inc.
David Chapman - Assistant Director, Notre Dame Security Police Department
Michael A. Dvorak - Prosecuting Attorney, St. Joseph County
Laurel Eslinger - Community Representative
Deborah Grounds - Vice President of Technology Services, Carleton Inc.
Vicky Holaway - Manager, Events and Special Projects, University of Notre Dame
Maura McDonald - Community Representative
Amy Packard, Community Representative