The Chattanooga woman claimed she was no actress, was not comfortable in front of others and had no business on a stage, but she wanted people to understand domestic violence, so for four or five years in the late 1980s and early 1990s she put herself out there, playing a role in the domestic violence drama “Fairy Tale” for what is now the Partnership for Families, Children and Adults.
When she pleaded with the woman portraying her sister, who had been abused, to get help, her voice had a knowing quality in it, a seriousness, an aching that spoke of something she’d experienced herself. And, in fact, she had. The actress had been abused in a previous marriage and fortunately was happily remarried.
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Chattanooga shows key partner the door as nonprofit criticizes handling of domestic violence initiative
One day she sat down with the rest of us in the cast and told her story, told of the abuse by her former husband and his immediate remorse for his battering. She told of the “honeymoon period” following the abuse, when he would act so kind, and then when it would happen again. She told of needing to stay in the marriage for their children, to have a roof over their heads and because she was sure it wouldn’t happen one more time. But it always did, and eventually she got out.
Back in those days, 25 years ago, the Partnership was pretty much alone in dealing with domestic violence in the area and in educating the public on it through plays such as “Fairy Tale.” Police, of course, could respond to calls but had their hands tied in what they could do. Courts didn’t come down as hard on abusers as they do today. Other individuals advocated against the domestic violence but didn’t have an organization behind them.
Today, the partnership is the only provider of rape crisis services and shelter for domestic violence in Hamilton County. Its Family Violence Center provides housing, case management, job placement, educational support, counseling and court liaisons.
This summer, though, the city of Chattanooga will open a Family Justice Center near Eastgate Town Center, which is expected to be a one-stop shop for domestic violence victims. The initial idea was to combine the services of the Family Violence Center with law enforcement and other community agencies under one roof.
Since then, whether because the city and the Partnership couldn’t agree on where the Family Justice Center would be located or because they couldn’t agree on whether a shelter and services should be at the same location or for other reasons, the Partnership has been told it will no longer play a significant role in the new center.
If that doesn’t change, it would be a shame.
To date, the Partnership has written the book in Hamilton County on assisting with domestic violence. To not seek its guidance going forward would be throwing away combined years of knowledge and experience. To duplicate services would be a waste of taxpayer money.
The new Family Justice Center — for which the city thus far has allocated $1.6 million — is to house representatives from Legal Aid, the Children’s Advocacy Center, the Chattanooga Police Department’s family violence unit, Adult Protective Services and mental health services. It was hinted the center also might have a wellness component — but not a shelter.
Since the Hamilton County Courthouse is within walking distance of the Partnership’s Family Violence Center shelter, women who had to flee their home with only the clothes on their back — and no car — had no trouble getting to court or meeting with lawyers. For services at the new center, transportation to and from will have to be arranged.
A Family Justice Center, where victims can connect with an array of services, is a wonderful and needed enterprise for Chattanooga. To have it work hand in glove with the area’s longtime Family Violence Center agency makes sense for both parties. We would implore both to put aside considerations of turf and find enough common ground to create a workable, non-duplicative solution that would serve victims like the woman who got on stage more than 25 years ago so other people would be educated and wouldn’t have to go through the same things she did.