Day Two! (Friday, January, 15th 2009)

Today we drove to the Family Justice Center to learn about how families deal with domestic violence through the United States justice system. We were greeted by Rachael Searcy, the program manager, who gave us an overview of the organization. We learned that the Family Justice Center began in 2008, and coordinated multiple organizations in one building for the aid of domestic violence victims. Victims that visit the center are given the tools to help them through each of their unique situations. The center is mostly run by volunteers and interns, who are able to act as advocates for the victims.

After giving us an overview of the organization and talking about the different programs that work with the Family Justice Center, Ms. Searcy gave us a brief tour of the facility. She showed us where different advocacy branches work, and also the "dens" where victims are taken to speak with advocates. She stressed the level of comfort that the dens are meant to provide, and told us that each child that comes to the center receives a blanket and a stuffed animal.

We ended our time at the center with two final presentations. The first was an advocate from the YWCA, who spoke about her experiences in her position. Finally, Dr. David Kitts, the Program Manager for the Criminal Investigation Division of the Knoxville Police Department gave us an in depth view of how the Knoxville P.D. deals with domestic violence. After an overview of domestic violence statistics and a discussion of the causes of family violence, Dr. Kitts told us about how Knoxville's comprehensive d.v. organizations came to be.

Today was super successful! I felt like I learned so much about how victims of family violence find justice and how they can receive orders of protection to keep them and their families safe. The presentation and the tour was a really good way to learn about the process that victims often must face in finding justice.

---Abby