By: Monte Whaley, Westminster Window
A typical victim of domestic violence who lives in Commerce City must travel over 25 miles to get to University Hospital for medical treatment and spend at least 36 minutes telling her story.
She will then have to go to the Adams County courthouse to start a long, drawn-out process for a protection order. She also faces trips to the Department of Human Services, Colorado Legal Services as well as grueling interviews with police and prosecutors.
In all, a domestic violence victim in Commerce City will have to travel 171 miles to get access to basic services. By car, this could take 250 minutes. By bus, it could take 22 hours, Adams County District Attorney Brian Mason told the Westminster City Council Tuesday.
This, Mason said, “does not include the number of hours spent at each location, completing forms, recounting her experience, asking and answering questions, waiting in lines or obtaining necessary items and paperwork.”
Mason recounted the massive obstacles domestic violence victims sometimes face in Adams County for councilors in his pitch to the formation of an all-inclusive Family Justice Center to serve residents of Adams of Broomfield counties.
Mason said Monday he was laying the groundwork for the Center and would eventually be back to ask for funding to get the facility underway.
Porchlight is the inspiration
He said the Center would be patterned after an existing Family Justice Center, operating now in Lakewood by PorchLight.
The FJC in Lakewood provides comprehensive legal, emotional and critical support services for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, abuse of at-risk individuals, elder abuse and human trafficking, according to a city staff report to the council.
Key government agencies, law enforcement, community, social and legal services and DA offices are on-site at the PorchLight facility to make it easier for victims and survivors to get help, the report said.
Mason said he wants the Adams/Broomfield site to do the same.
“We want it to be a one-stop shop for victims of domestic violence,” Mason said.
The proposed FJC would help tackle the “scourge of domestic violence” in Adams County, he said. Cases of domestic abuse hit new highs during the COVID-19 pandemic and have remained high.
As evidence, Mason pointed to a Domestic Violence Fatality Review Board 2023 annual report which found that Adams recorded 17 fatalities linked to domestic violence in 2022. Only El Paso County, with 20, recorded more.
The planned FJC in Adams County would get a victim of domestic abuse key services more quickly and efficiently and before it is too late.
“…We don’t have to see them on an autopsy table,” Mason said.
A permanent location for the Adams/Broomfield FJC has not been identified, he said, adding a temporary spot will be used for at least a year to get the operation moving.
PorchLight is funded through various means, including contributions from cities and county partners, the staff report states. In the police department’s 2025 proposed budget, the City of Westminster’s commitment to PorchLight is $29,776.27, the report states.
Mason said a similar funding plan will be needed for the Adams/Broomfield FJC. Councilors said they were willing to commit Westminster dollars for the FJC.
“This effort saves lives and saves dollars,” said City Councilor Claire Carmelia. “These preventive measures do help our economy.”