This year’s Domestic Violence Awareness Month kept Atlanta Volunteer Lawyer Foundation’s Safe & Stable Families Team incredibly busy, as they partnered and collaborated with various community organizations to educate the public on the dangers of domestic violence and how to assist survivors.
The Safe & Stable Families Team kicked off Domestic Violence Awareness Month on October 3 with Project Director Jamie Perez guest lecturing on domestic violence at Georgia State Law School’s Family Law class, taught by Kessler & Solomiany Partner Thad Woody.
Next, Jamie, along with Family Law Staff Attorney Nilu Tabari, Project Coordinator Lilli Crowe, and GSU Law Student and AVLF Intern Katie Ehrlich attended the Third Annual Domestic Violence Resource Fair hosted by the Atlanta Municipal Court and Atlanta Victim’s Assistance, where, along with team members from the Atlanta Legal Aid Society’s Family Law Unit, they distributed domestic violence resource information to the community. Later that evening, Jamie participated as a panelist, along with our friends at Partnership Against Domestic Violence, Men Stopping Violence, Fulton County Solicitor General’s Victim Assistance, among other community organizations, at two of Bank of America’s Domestic Violence Task Force events at BOA’s Kennesaw headquarters.
On October 22, Nilu and Jamie attended the Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence’s 2nd Annual “Jazzin’ for GCADV” event at The Solarium in Decatur, where AVLF Family Law Program partner Jonathan Levine received GCADV’s Collaborate Award for his work with survivors of domestic violence.
On October 25, Jamie and Lilli conducted a training for attorneys interested in representing domestic violence survivors in court to obtain 12-Month Protective Orders, hosted by DLA Piper. The same day, Nilu presented on domestic violence at a training hosted by the Atlanta Legal Aid Society.
Throughout the month, the AVLF/PADV Safe Families Office in the Fulton County Courthouse put together goodie bags, the brainchild of PADV Legal Advocate Lorina Lew, which were delivered to their partners in the courthouse for Domestic Violence Awareness Month to thank courthouse staff for their support.
Finally, AVLF is partnering with the Partnership Against Domestic Violence, International Women’s House, and Judicial Correction Services to host the 5th Annual Domestic Violence Candlelight Vigil on Thursday, October 27 at Nelson Mullins, from 6:00-7:30 pm, honoring not only survivors of domestic violence, but also those who have lost their lives to domestic violence. More information on this free event may be found here.
Needless to say, AVLF’s Safe & Stable Families Team worked tirelessly this past month to educate the community on resources to assist survivors of domestic violence and help combat this horrible epidemic in Atlanta. While the fight against domestic violence continues for this team each and every month, it was nice that the month of October was dedicated specifically to this cause, allowing so many community organizations to come together to spread awareness.