29 BRAND STORY clothing closet provide basics, and people can use showers and receive meals while at the FJC. In addition, on-site childcare means children do not have to accompany parents to appointments. Every day at 1 p.m., the Washington County Circuit Court holds a virtual docket during which a judge rules on protective order petitions, so someone can fill out paperwork in the morning and receive a judge’s ruling that afternoon. Afterwards, the court shares restraining orders with the sheriff’s office, which can serve them that day. FJC’s phone and internet services—provided by Comcast Business—ensure collaboration and connectivity and also serve clients when the building is closed. The voicemail system directs off-hour callers to every partner’s available crisis line. “That twenty-four hour, seven-day-a-week reliable service that doesn’t go out allows us to help survivors even when our doors aren’t open,” says Schutz. Comcast Business also supports the FJC through fundraisers, such as its Denim & Diamonds Gala. “The FJC’s dedication to fostering a safe and compassionate environment aligns with our values of community empowerment and technological innovation,” says Allison Lawr, senior enterprise sales manager at Comcast Business. “We are proud to support its unwavering commitment to providing essential support and resources to those experiencing domestic violence.” A focus on breaking the cycle Though the FJC provides crucial support and services, its ultimate goal is to break the cycle of violence, though that is not an easy task. Its survivor advisory board, VOICES, meets monthly and helps inform the FJC’s work while also giving people the opportunity to support other survivors. “When you have just intervention, you stop the bad thing from happening, but you don’t give people something else,” says Schutz. “So, a focus is giving people and their children that longer-term stability, community, and sense of belonging to something so they don’t have to turn back to what they had.” By 2026, the FJC will expand to a larger, owned facility and transition into the Family Peace Center, bringing in child abuse treatment and prevention services through partner organization CARES Northwest. Schutz notes that a large number of offenders have witnessed domestic violence or experienced childhood abuse themselves, so supporting children is key to interrupting the abuse cycle. “The way I see it, we have to create the conditions in which violence doesn’t start in people in the first place,” she says. n VOICES Survivor Advisory Board member, Washington County District Attorney, and Abuse Recovery Ministry Services at the annual Gathering of Hope for Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Partners from Domestic Violence Resource Center, Sexual Assault Resource Center, Community Action, and Family Justice Center staff for Wear Purple Day.
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