Alumni Profiles

One-stop justice

"A partnership unlike any other" is up and running in downtown Buffalo, serving families shattered by domestic violence and offering a way out for those who live in fear.

The Family Justice Center of Erie County has served more than 1,000 families since its opening last year, says Lisa Bloch Rodwin '85, who wrote the application which won a U.S.

Department of Justice grant that made the project possible.

It is, she says, a triumph of community service over self-interest.

"Everybody had to get past all these turf issues and say, what can we do for people at risk?" Rodwin says. "This is the culmination of everything that all of us in this community have done."

Services at the Family Justice Center are free, and the center's client-friendly, client-centered focus ensures that those who come seeking help are treated with privacy and dignity. Rodwin says clients call the shots, choosing from an array of helpers: social workers, medical personnel, police and district attorney representatives, spiritual advisers, and advisers on work skills training, to name a few. The University at Buffalo is represented by its Law School and the School of Social Work.

A forensic medical unit on site at the center, 237 Main St., can provide some treatment and document injuries with high-resolution digital photos for use in criminal proceedings. There is even translation available for 110 languages.

Rodwin is proud that since the center opened, Erie County has not recorded a single family violence homicide.

Publicizing the center is an ongoing effort. One innovative initiative, sponsored by Zonta International, is called Behind Closed Doors. Posters are being put up inside the stalls in women's restrooms throughout the area, such as in grocery stores, health care clinics and movie theaters.