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AVLF’s Safe Families Office Prepares to Celebrate 10th Anniversary

…the Safe Families Office February 9th marks the 10th anniversary of AVLF’s Safe Families Office (SFO) – Georgia’s very first lawyer-staffed, Courthouse-based resource for survivors of intimate partner abuse. The SFO is a unique collaboration between AVLF, Partnership Against Domestic Violence (PADV), and the Fulton County Superior and State Courts. The office serves survivors of domestic violence seeking civil temporary protective orders against t…

How the Room Speaks: Creating Healing Spaces for Survivors

…their environment impact their sense of safety? Survivors looking for the Safe Families Office are often nervous and intimidated when they enter the building. The Courthouse isn’t the easiest place to navigate. The maze of hallways and busy courtrooms can be overwhelming to anyone who first enters. Because of both their circumstances and the unfamiliar surroundings, survivors looking for the Safe Families Office are often nervous and intimidated…

Clothing Brand Chloe Kristyn Partners with AVLF’s Safe and Stable Families Project

…ee what’s next. Women’s Collection | Girls’ Collection Read more about our Safe Families Office / Domestic Violence work. Ashleigh Starnes Communications Associate As AVLF’s Communications Associate, Ashleigh helps Katie King with website content development, social media outreach, and various other forms of communication with our fiercely compassionate supporters. Ashleigh is ever-eager to share the remarkable stories of our clients, and the impa…

Safe Families Office Gets Tech Overhaul

…ong one, largely because of the time it takes to hand-write the documents. Safe Families staff spent the day learning about the new technology they’ll be using. Thanks to a grant from The AEC Trust and with support from TechBridge, this process will soon change. Starting July 24, the SFO will become completely digital. Each intake desk will be outfitted with a desktop computer, and clients will sign-in on tablets that will process all their inform…

5 Signs of Intimate Partner Abuse and Where Survivors Can Get Help

…would like to discuss them further or seek help, you may visit or call the Safe Families Office in the Fulton County Courthouse, where survivors of intimate partner abuse have access to legal advocates, attorneys, social workers, crisis intervention counselors, shelter, safety planning, and other resources. Watch our video to learn more about the Safe and Stable Families Project. Jamie Perez Director, Safe and Stable Families Project Jamie is the…

The Safe Families Office Commemorates 10th Anniversary

…rved more than 19,000 individuals, including more than 6,700 children. The Safe Families Office staff and volunteers have had more than 150,000 units of service provision/interaction with these clients, more than 40 units a day, and assisted with obtaining more than 21,000 Temporary Protection Orders (TPOs). From April 2016 to December 31, 2018, the office has assigned 450 volunteer attorneys to represent clients in their hearings. “Over the past…

A Year in Review: How We Grew and Where We’re Going

…ontinued to grow and innovate. We’ve expanded in the nationally-recognized Safe Families Office—a lawyer-staffed, courthouse-based safe haven for survivors of intimate partner abuse who are seeking the law’s protection; in our Family Law program, offering critical family law representation to those same survivors; and in our Guardian ad Litem program, providing expertly trained Guardians ad Litem to look out for children’s best interests in high-c…

Safe and Stable Homes Team Honored for Community Impact

…ent to lifting Atlanta communities. Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation’s Safe and Stable Homes Project has been doing exciting, impactful work in local communities. This month, our team was honored by both Metro Fair Housing Services and by the Barack and Michelle Obama Academy. 50 Years of the Fair Housing Act On April 11th, Metro Fair Housing Services hosted a kickoff for the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Federal Fair Housing Act. AVL…

Georgia Bar Foundation Gives $100,000 to Safe and Stable Families Project

…vivors of domestic violence who had secured a Protective Order through the Safe Families Office, and who thereafter needed a modification in an existing custody or child support decree, or even a divorce from their abuser, would have legal help to secure that change. Currently led by Staff Attorney Audrey Bergeson, this program provided legal advice, assistance, and/or representation to over 102 survivors in 2017. “A special thank you to Executive…

2016 Celebrating Service Luncheon Award Winners

…SAFE FAMILIES OFFICE FIRM OF THE YEAR: JONES DAY Since partnering with the Safe Families Office in 2013, Jones Day’s volunteer attorneys have been extremely committed to serving survivors of domestic violence. This past year, Laura Bunten and Jessica Casey did a phenomenal job of ensuring volunteer attorneys from their firm were available when the Safe Families Office needed them. The firm is extremely effective in encouraging new volunteers to be…

Breaking the Fall

…ork around eviction defense. Donate now. Ayanna Jones-Lightsy Co-Director, Safe & Stable Homes Project Ayanna serves as the co-director of AVLF’s Safe and Stable Homes Project, focusing mainly on the Standing with Our Neighbors program. Ayanna obtained her B.A. in history from Clark Atlanta University. After obtaining her degree, she worked in education for the next four years. Ayanna attended Emory University School of Law before working for the…

Letter From Leadership: What You Don’t Know About Domestic Violence

…ed through hundreds of clients’ information – each of whom had visited the Safe Families Office that year – before pulling up the victim’s paperwork. I wanted to review her file and her history. I wanted to figure out what went wrong. The victim, a former Sheriff’s Deputy, had been married to her husband for 15 years. She had recently told him she wanted a divorce. He responded by accusing her of cheating. He went through her phone, systematically…