My mom explained that Jennifer had a habit in the following years of calling her when she got scared.
When Jennifer called that day and I answered, it had been nearly 20 years since she and my mother had first met. Over these years, Jennifer kept my mom’s home phone number and knew that she could call it when she was frightened or needed an answer.

On average, a survivor leaves her abuser seven times before she leaves for good. That means a victim returns to an abusive relationship six times. AVLF’s Family Law Program is taking aim at that statistic.

“My clients have all been wonderful, hardworking people who found themselves in untenable situations and had the courage to stand up and say ‘no more.’ These cases serve as powerful reminders of the resiliency of the human spirit.”

In its fourth year, AVLF at the Movies highlighted important, impactful issues affecting Atlanta’s communities. Over 300 people joined us to talk about the intersection between gentrification, affordable housing, and education. 

AVLF is one of those rare entities that not only sounds too good to be true, but truly is extraordinary in every way — from their incredible staff, to their altruistic mission, to the actual impact that they have on Atlanta’s most impoverished residents.

Funding from the CFGA Spark Opportunity Giving Circle allows us to deepen our impact, continue to build trust, and sustain our programs in the Thomasville Heights Community.

One of the first things you learn in domestic violence training at AVLF is that violence can occur in any relationship, regardless of gender, race, or sexual orientation. We saw that firsthand. She was married to her abuser for decades and had several children with him. Both were highly educated, well-employed, and, to the outside world, had presented as a nearly perfect family. Until he tried to kill her.

The statistics surrounding the overlap between housing problems and domestic violence are staggering: 39% of cities in the U.S. cited domestic violence as the primary cause of family homelessness.

I add the original victim’s and batterer’s child or children. The batterer literally pounds cruel lessons home. The children learn them young, filing them in the backs of minds, to surface later. An impulse to beat or to let a batterer attack can lie in wait, until a threat, tantrum or argument triggers it.

I have an over-developed sense of justice. Fun fact: a therapist once told me, as I sat with folded arms and stony face, that I am not the sheriff of the world and that I should put my badge down. Whatever, dude. AVLF is my badge.

Thanks to a grant from the AEC Trust and with support from TechBridge, starting July 24, the SFO will become completely digital. The advances in technology will better address our needs, the needs of our clients, and the needs of the court.

“We are literally changing the way the public understands healthy relationships and providing assistance with legal remedies to help people live their lives more safely and ending the cycle of violence.”