A three-year effort in Sonoma County to combine all services for domestic violence victims under one roof has cleared a key hurdle, despite worry by some that money still needs to be raised to sustain the project.
The Board of Supervisors this week voted unanimously to create a Family Justice Center within a recently purchased office building on Mendocino Avenue in Santa Rosa.
When the center opens next year, it will provide counseling, legal aid, law enforcement help and other relief at one location.
Advocates said it will be a welcome change from the current situation where the typical domestic violence victim must visit as many as 23 places to receive all of the public services available to them.
"This will, in a fundamental way, alter the way services are delivered here," said District Attorney Stephan Passalacqua, a leading advocate and fund-raiser for the project. "I'm pleased to be part of it becoming a reality."
Organizers raised $1.4 million in seed money through grants and private donors. Billionare winemaker Jess Jackson and his wife, Barbara Banke, have committed to donating $500,000 over five years, contingent on matching donations.
But supervisors tempered their enthusiasm with financial concerns.
Supervisor Shirlee Zane said a planned $4 million remodel of the office building was too expensive in light of this year's $61 million county budget deficit.
And Zane doubted the center could be operated with non-profit fundraising and one-time grants alone. Zane said a new revenue source, including possible court fees, might be needed to cover the estimated $173,000 in annual costs, which include a director's salary.
"The budget needs to get more concrete," said Zane, a former director of the Council on Aging who was involved in justice center planning.
"They need to roll up their sleeves and do more work."
Passalacqua said Jackson's donation, administered by the Community Foundation, is the largest single pledge for any family justice center nationwide and indicative of the commitment to the project.
Supervisor Valerie Brown said she has "no angst at all that you're going to be able to raise this money."
"I could not be more thrilled," she said.
The 20,000-square-foot building at 2755 Mendocino Avenue, purchased last year by the county for $4 million, will be remodeled in two phases. The first will be focused on the ground floor where the YWCA, United Against Sexual Assault, Sonoma County Legal Aid, Council on Aging and Catholic Charities will have offices.
Work will then shift to the second floor housing prosecutors and law enforcement officials. Doors are expected to open next summer or fall.
Some groups such as Child Protective Services will come in at a later time, said Denise Frey, Sonoma County YWCA executive director, who has been involved in planning.
Frey said it will be a major improvement over the current situation. For instance, she said domestic violence victims have to go to one place to get a restraining order, another place for counseling, another place for food stamps and yet another to talk to investigators.
Putting the services in one place has encouraged victims in other cities to press criminal charges more often while reducing the number of attacks and even deaths, Frey said.
"It can be pretty overwhelming when you're already dealing with the trauma of being assaulted," Frey said. "This will be much better."
UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy: