An Update from the Front-Lines of Contra Costa County’s Legal Incubator Program – Contra Costa Lawyer Online
“The Lawyers for Family Justice program is a community effort,” says Kim. “We have outstanding community attorneys dedicating their time to mentor, strong support from the Contra Costa County Bar Association, and friendships with incubator programs all across the country, which continue to evolve and improve their practices.” http://cclawyer.cccba.org/2016/10/ccc-legal-incubator-program/
In Richmond, a modern approach to helping domestic violence victims
Aug 3, 2016 “Just imagine you are a victim of domestic violence, of sexual assault, of elder abuse, and you walk in here,” says Susun Kim, executive director of the Contra Costa Family Justice Alliance. “What do you notice? What do you see?” The West County Family Family Justice Center — a one-stop facility providing multiple services for abused victims at 256 24th St. in Richmond — feels open from its lobby to its hallways. The center, which celebrated its grand opening just over one year ago, is filled with oxygen and natural light. Compelling images of young people don lobby and hallway walls. Other artwork is bright, colorful, mounted as if in a gallery. A smiling receptionist greets us; there’s no barrier between us. She’s bilingual. There’s a form to fill out, but it’s one page, and one-sided. And we can’t help but notice that the stick figure on door to the women’s restroom is wearing a Superwoman cape. The Family Justice Center appears to have left no stone unturned in the effort to provide swift and welcoming assistance and resources to abused women and seniors. The Richmond Standard recently toured the center and experienced how a victim of abuse would receive help upon entry. “When you go the police station, district attorney’s office, bank, welfare office, the first thing you really experience is the barrier,” Kim says. “We purposely got rid of any barrier so when you come in, you feel welcome here.” After filling out a single-page questionnaire in the lobby, victims are brought into a comfortable interview room featuring artwork from the NIAD Art Center. There, they speak with a navigator who assesses their situation and informs them on the available resources. Rather than having to call around to various government and nonprofit agencies around the county, victims can simply stay in their interview room while those very resources come to them. Officials from an array or agencies and organizations operate in the building, including Richmond police detectives specializing in abuse cases, along with a representative from the district attorney’s office. For victims with children, childcare is provided in a spacious play room. Volunteer physicians and nurses provide care for victims in small but well-equipped exam rooms. And while there is no bed or shelter provided in the center, a shower room is available to clients. Kim walked us past a row of cubicles where various government and nonprofit agencies operate, providing crucial resources such as connections to affordable housing and services for elder abuse victims. “I would say affordable housing is really the number one need of our clients,” Kim said. “A lot of our clients are stuck in their relationship because they can’t really think of how they could get affordable housing, as the Bay Area is becoming even more expensive.” The second and third greatest needs of clients are civil/legal and mental health assistance, Kim said. Kim says she hopes the center’s modern, innovative and seamless approach to helping abuse victims will encourage more victims to come forward and utilize the resources. The Family Justice Center will hold a major fundraiser in September in order to continue and expand its mission. See the flyer below for more information. For more information, visit the Contra Costa Family Justice Center website, call 510-965-4949 or visit the center at 256 24th St. http://richmondstandard.com/2016/08/in-richmond-a-modern-approach-to-helping-domestic-violence-victims/
In Richmond, a modern approach to helping domestic violence victims | Richmond Standard
“The Family Justice Center appears to have left no stone unturned in the effort to provide swift and welcoming assistance and resources to abused women and seniors.” http://richmondstandard.com/2016/08/in-richmond-a-modern-approach-to-helping-domestic-violence-victims/
Free medical clinic serving local uninsured patients moves into Family Justice Center
The RotaCare Richmond Free Medical Clinic is now located at the new West County Family Justice Center at 256 24th St. The free medical clinic — which is run by volunteer physicians and nurses who serve uninsured West County residents — had its grand opening celebration scheduled for last night. The clinic operates Tuesdays from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and two Saturdays per month from 9 a.m. to noon. Patients must make appointments by phone in advance. Patients will be able to visit new medical exam rooms in the Family Justice Center facility that were made possible via financial support from nine Rotary Clubs and individual donors. Also, local architects, contractors, Rotarians and others contributed time and labor toward their construction. The clinic will share space with multiple service and resource agencies in the Family Justice Center, many of which provide services for abuse victims and their families. The Richmond clinic first opened in March 2013 and is one of 12 RotaCare clinics in the Bay Area. Since opening, the clinic has seen about 1,300 patients, mostly from Richmond and San Pablo, and handled more than 3,000 office visits. About 75 percent of RotaCare Richmond’s patients are Hispanic. A large majority of patients live below the federal poverty line. “Our mission is to help those with the greatest need and the least access to medical care,” Dr. Pate Thomson, a retired cardiologist who is one of the clinic’s co-founders and chair of its advisory council, said in a statement. “We are the safety net below the safety net.” For more information about Rotacare, visit www.rotacarebayarea.org The photo above shows Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia speaking at the grand opening event of the West County Family Justice Center in June 2015.
Good Neighbors by Faith Barnidge: Bonilla names Assembly district woman of year
Family Justice Center Celebrate “Hope for the Future: Healing Our Children,” at the Family Justice Center benefit from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, April 7, at the Pleasant Hill Community Center, 320 Civic Drive. Fine wine and appetizers will be served at a reception featuring a silent auction for prizes, followed by a short program and live auction. Tickets are $25. Call Natalie at 925-521-6366 or email natalie@cocofamilyjustice.org, or visit https://www.cocofamilyjustice.org for more information. The Family Justice Center is located across from Todos Santos Plaza, on the second floor of Salvio Pacheco Square, at 2151 Salvio St. in downtown Concord. It offers professional, comprehensive services in one location for people victimized by domestic violence, sexual assault, elder abuse, child abuse and human trafficking. Representatives from local government, social service, religious and nonprofit organizations are on site to offer counsel, referrals and resources. Partner organizations offering crisis management include Adult Protective Services, Bay Area Crisis Nursery, Legal Aid, Court Appointed Special Advocate for foster Children (CASA), Catholic Charities, Children and Family Services, STAND! For Families Free of Violence, Meals on Wheels, Monument Impact, Monument Crisis Center, Shelter, Inc. and many more. After a crisis situation has been addressed, the Family Justice Center offers ongoing support with health, education, training and community programs. The WINGS (Women Inspired to Grow and Succeed) program, offers continuing support to help survivors become independent and self-sufficient by setting goals for budgeting, career and stress management. Call 925-521-6366 for information about sessions from 10 a.m. to noon Saturdays, March 26, and April 2 and 9.
Supervisor John Gioia Lists Family Justice Center as Public Safety Accomplishment for Contra Costa County
Improving the lives of Contra Costans – Working Together As we enter 2016, I’m excited to build on the momentum of Contra Costa County’s accomplishments last year, highlighted below. I’m proud to have worked alongside so many other great people, from community groups, business, labor, and government, to improve the quality of life in our County, and look forward to continuing our partnerships. I believe our accomplishments demonstrate the positive role that government can play in making our community a better place to live. Here are a few highlights: We improved the health of Contra Costa residents More County residents than ever are now covered by health insurance because of our successful local Medi-Cal expansion effort under the Affordable Care Act. Nearly one-fifth of County residents (that’s nearly 200,000 people) are enrolled in our Contra Costa Health Plan and a majority of them are being cared for in our own hospital and clinics. We expanded health and dental care for youth by partnering with Kennedy High in Richmond to open a community health clinic at the school. The County now helps run more than 40 school-based health centers We saved lives of County residents who suffered heart attacks. Last year, the American Heart Association nationally recognized our Emergency Medical Services Agency for its work in optimizing the care of heart-attack patients during transport to the hospital, and in emergency rooms. We expanded healthcare to undocumented families by partnering with local hospitals and community clinics to establish a preventative healthcare plan for undocumented families. We improved public safety in our County We improved ambulance response times by approving an innovative public-private partnership between the Contra Costa Fire District and AMR to provide high quality emergency ambulance service to most County residents (including West County). This will speed ambulance response time, reduce service duplication, and allow us to obtain new federal funding. We opened two Family Justice Centers (in Richmond and Concord) to provide vital one-stop services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, and elder abuse. We expanded services to the formerly incarcerated to help them get stable housing and employment, which reduces the likelihood of criminal recidivism and improves community safety. We helped open a one-stop Reentry Success Center in Richmond and created housing opportunities in Central and East County. We broke ground on an urban educational farm in North Richmond. We are improving opportunities for youth to lead healthy, safe and successful lives by partnering with non-profit Urban Tilth to develop an innovative urban educational farm. We made our County a more sustainable place to live We made it easier for residents of unincorporated areas to finance energy and water conservation improvements by establishing a Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program. We’re hiring a new County Sustainability Coordinator to help lead our sustainability initiatives and pursue new funding to expand those efforts. We approved a Climate Action Plan identifying how the County will achieve its greenhouse gas reduction targets while supporting public health, energy efficiency, water conservation, and air quality goals. These efforts will result in lower energy bills and enhance our quality of life. We are studying Community Choice Energy to enable us to receive more of our electricity from renewables like wind and solar. We supported clean technology by passing a law to require electric vehicle charging stations in new multi-family and commercial developments, and purchasing electric vehicles for the County fleet. We supported our most vulnerable families We helped low-income families become more self-sufficient by expanding pre-school opportunities for children and making assistance to buy healthy foods available in three rather than 30 days, to those with immediate food needs. We helped families affected by mental illness by implementing Laura’s Law to provide assisted outpatient treatment to individuals with serious mental illness, and by further integrating our mental health, substance abuse and homeless services. We honored and supported our Veterans by helping, through our Veterans Service Office, nearly 6,000 veterans access $24 million in well-deserved and life-changing benefits. We protected the taxpayer and the County’s fiscal health We approved a structurally balanced budget of over $3 billion while exercising strong financial management. We maintained the County’s AAA credit rating (the highest possible) enabling us to restructure debt and save taxpayers 4 ½ million dollars. We supported the hard work of our County employees We concluded labor negotiations providing well-deserved wage increases and reduced health care costs for most of our county employees after they made sacrifices during lean years of financial challenge. I’m looking forward to continuing to serve Contra Costa residents and am always open to your ideas or suggestions. Please send an email to John_Gioia@bos.cccounty.us with any thoughts or concerns. Sincerely, John John Gioia Supervisor, District One Contra Costa County 11780 San Pablo Avenue, Suite D El Cerrito, CA 94530 510-231-8686 Phone 510-374-3429 Fax John_Gioia@bos.cccounty.us www.cocobos.org/gioia
Richmond cop murdered in domestic violence incident honored at Family Justice Center
A respected Richmond police officer who was killed by a former boyfriend in 2006 will forever be a symbol of hope to domestic violence victims at the West County Family Justice Center. [Read more].
Contra Costa Family Justice Center Seeks Applicants for Community Fellowship Program
An innovative new fellowship program being launched by the Contra Costa Family Justice Center aims to equip victims of violence with the leadership skills to empower their long-term sustainability and success. The center is accepting applications by Feb. 10, for its 10 month, 10 hour-per-week Community Fellowship Program that will kick off in March 2016 at its West Center location in Richmond and Central Center location in Concord. [Read More] .
Richmond man forced woman to live in closet in Iron Triangle residence
A Richmond man forced a woman to live in a closet in an Iron Triangle home and abused her daily for about a year before his recent arrest, police said Tuesday. Detectives working out of the new West Contra Costa Family Justice Center recently received a voicemail from a Homeland Security agent about a woman who was being held against her will, police said. They were also notified by STAND! advocates. [See more]
Good Neighbors: Share-ing in the praise, recognition
SHARE volunteers collect and distribute food to our hungry neighbors from their Food Pantry in Concord. President George Conlow, Vice-President Ron Hannan, Board members Jan Harman and Russell Meier, and volunteer Don Ray recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award, a congratulatory letter from President Obama, and a Safeway gift card for achieving at least 4,000 cumulative volunteer hours in service to the community. The awards were presented by Volunteer Center of the East Bay’s Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP). [Read more]