Columbus Coalition Against Family Violence


			FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 19, 2002 PROJECT DIGNITY WILL HELP FAMILY VIOLENCE VICTIMS REBUILD THEIR LIVES Columbus Coalition Against Family Violence and Columbus Bar Foundation Commit $1.2 million for legal assistance to victims (COLUMBUS) - The Columbus Coalition Against Family Violence and the Columbus Bar Foundation today unveiled an unprecendeted $1.2 million, multi-year joint initiative to provide legal assistance for family violence victims called Project Dignity. It is the largest project ever undertaken by either organization. Abigail S. Wexner, Founder and Board Chair, Columbus Coalition Against Family Violence; Janet Jackson, Columbus City Attorney and Columbus Coalition Against Family Violence Legal Task Force Chair; and Susan Rector, Vice President, Columbus Bar Foundation, and Principal at Schottenstein, Zox and Dunn Co., L.P.A. made the announcement at a Columbus Metropolitan Club Forum. Over five years, the Legal Aid Society of Columbus will receive $1.2 million. The money will be used to help victims with the legal needs arising from family violence cases. These include: civil protection orders, divorce, contested child custody and related issues such as housing and landlord-tenant disputes, employment and health insurance benefits. The Columbus Coalition Against Family Violence will fund approximately $160,000 a year for five years. The Columbus Bar Foundation will fund approximately $80,000 a year for five years. This is the largest grant in the Bar Foundation's history. "Our institutions have lacked the resources to address the civil legal problems facing victims. Project Dignity will help victims get the legal help they need to begin anew," Wexner said. "No where is the need greater than on the front line - with indigent women and children who need legal help to rebuild their lives. There is a place she can turn to for help - Legal Aid," she added. The funds will hire three additional attorneys and an additional paralegal at Legal Aid. "I can't overemphasize the huge need in this area. Last year, Legal Aid turned away more than 5,000 people seeking representation in family law matters. This includes high priority contested child custody cases," Rector said. "In a study done by the Ohio State Bar Association and the Ohio Metropolitan Bar Leaders, we found that five out of six people in poverty facing civil legal problems did not get legal help. Legal issues that result from domestic violence crimes emerged as one of the most critical needs of the low-income community. The results were substantially the same in two subsequent regional studies," she added. Family violence is a crime that occurs at all socio-economic levels and is particularly destructive because children from violent homes often become abusers themselves - 80% of violent juvenile offenders and adult prisoners come from homes where domestic violence was part of their lives. Research also bears out that women in the home are also abused. "Locally, our numbers are staggering. In 2000 there were over 12,000 domestic dispute calls were made to law enforcement agencies in Franklin County; and the city attorney's office prosecuted more than 6,000 of these cases," Jackson said. "The public may not realize this, but our courts are clogged with domestic violence cases - 15-20 cases every day. With this magnitude, government and in particularly the criminal justice system - cannot handle these crimes alone. "It takes a change in the way society views these batterers - these criminals - and it also takes the public stepping forward and saying - we will not tolerate this crime. It is wrong and it must stop. The Coalition is working to change how society views this crime," she added. The Coalition focuses its work on five touch points - where the victim and societal institutions intersect - with task forces working to create systemic change. These task forces are: Business Community/Public Education, Faith Community, Health Care, Legal System and Victim Services. Founded in 1998, The Columbus Coalition Against Family Violence is comprised of leaders from businesses and organizations in Central Ohio committed to reforming our systems to stop the cycle of violence in our community. The Coalition's mission is to promote a community culture that supports victims and does not tolerate family violence - a pervasive crime that hurts everyone. The Columbus Coalition Against Family Violence is located at 700 Children's Drive in Columbus and can be reached at (614) 722-5985.