Story by Amanda Lamb
RALEIGH, N.C. — There is a new push to help victims of domestic violence in a way they’ve never been helped before in Wake County.
A family justice center would offer everything from legal needs to medical needs to housing, all under one roof.
Leading the charge is InterAct, the only provider of domestic violence and sexual assault services in Wake County. The team there is dedicated to ending the cycle of domestic and sexual violence in the Triangle.
Annually, the nonprofit organization serves about 10,000 victims.
The Family Justice Center Alliance, which is spearheaded by the Alliance for Hope International, is helping InterAct with that vision.
“We’ve generally been looking at the justice system as the solution to problems of interpersonal violence. When in reality, it’s just one cog in the wheel,” said Judge Ronald Adrine, with Alliance for Hope International.
So far, there are 130 family justice centers in 25 countries.
One step that has already been made in Wake County is how a victim files paperwork to get a protective order. A person used to have to file it at the courthouse; now they can do it at InterAct online with the help of an advocate. They can even use Skype to talk to a judge.
Last year, 79 people died as a result of domestic violence in North Carolina. In the last two months alone, six people died in domestic violence homicides.
Experts say leaving a domestic violence situation is not easy. When a victim leaves, it is important to have support because the victim is 75 percent more likely to die at the time of leaving than if he or she had just stayed in the relationship.