After securing a permanent home, our Board of Directors elected to officially change our name from "Safe Families Initiative" to "The Family Justice Center, Georgetown County." As we adhere to the practices and standards of the National Family Justice Center Alliance, we wish to be known and identified as a member of this larger international Family Justice Center community.

For more information on our history and the growth of the Family Justice Center Alliance, please visit:

www.fjcgeorgetown.org or www.familyjusticecenter.org. 

As we at the Family Justice Center serve victims of family violence, I think it's a good idea to answer the most asked question we hear about this problem.  That question is, "Why don't they just leave?"

The answers vary from individual to individual depending on the length of time and where in the cycle of violence they are on that day.   Still, I am amazed at how often all of the answers become familiar as we listen to each client.

We see fear.  Seeking help can be the most dangerous thing a victim can do.

We see fatigue.  Intense emotions about violence sap all energy and life from a victim.

We see lack of resources.  The abuser has control of all finances and all things of value.

We see isolation.  The victim has been forced to discourage her relationships with family and friends.

We see low self-esteem.  People who are blamed for everything and are frequently punished and alone do come to believe it is their fault.  They feel stupid.

We see humiliation.  The powerful emotion shame takes over.

We see false hope.  They develop a fantasy as the abuser promises to change.  The abuser is extremely affectionate and they love the period of them when he/she is remorseful and loving.

We see religious beliefs.  The victim believes the abuser is rightfully in charge.

We learn that he/she has tried to leave before.  The process of creating a new life without resources was overwhelming.  The abuser is out on bail within a day or two.  He/she threatens serious physical harm, economic and legal retaliation and threats to take the kids.  He/she has a lawyer.

All of the above is why we have worked since 2006 to establish a Family Justice Center in Georgetown County.  We will be a community with zero tolerance for family violence.  We will do it with your help.

Carol Winans

Founding Member

The Fall kickoff for our cell phone collection fundraising program is now underway.  Funds are critically needed to support the confidential, free, life saving programs and services offered by the Center to victims, survivors and children of domestic violence.  The Family Justice Center is currently the only program providing domestic violence services in Georgetown and Horry counties.  Proceeds raised from the collection will fund various programs including emergency safe housing assistance, court advocacy, counseling, safety planning, childcare at the Center and other services.    

Donating a used, unwanted cell phone of any type allows community members to donate to an important cause without reaching into their wallets.  With the hundreds of thousands of used cell phones sitting idly in our community, the fundraising potential is almost limitless.   

The Family Justice Centerhas partnered with Shelter Alliance, the largest grassroots cell phone recycler in the United States.   Shelter Alliance currently works with over 6000 social service organizations in 50 states and has contributed over $8,000,000 to participating organizations. 

The Family Justice Center is soliciting local businesses, fraternal organizations, churches and other community organizations to initiate collection campaigns with their employees, customers, members and parishioners.  The participation of all community members is strongly encouraged, with gratitude, for the assistance it will provide allowing allow the Center to continue its programming.  

Cell phone collections can be delivered to:  Family Justice Center, 1530 Highmarket Street, Georgetown - Monday through Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM.  For more information, contact Beverly Kennedy at 843-546-3926 or by E-MAIL.  

The signature fundraising

event for the Family Justice Center is the Taste 

of Georgetown which is held along Front Street and Francis Marion Park, in Georgetown, SC.  This year's event will be on Saturday, November 3rd from 1-4pm.  The Taste of Georgetown is a restaurant crawl offering delicacies from 21 local restaurants and service organizations. Tickets for these tasty delicacies are $1 each with most food items requiring 2-3 tickets.  Tickets may be obtained prior to the event by calling the Family Justice Center at 546-3926.  Tickets will also be sold on the day of the event at three separate locations along Front Street.  Participating restaurants this year are Rice Paddy, River Room, Portofino's, Coffee Break Cafe, GT Alfresco Bistro, Front St. Deli, Thomas Cafe, Limpin' Jane's, Sweeties, Buzz's Roost, Beef O'Brady's, Land's End, Herb & Shawn BBQ and Seafood, The Krazy Fish, Pawleys Island Bakery, Louis' at Sanfords, JD's Steakhouse, Island Bar and Grill, Roz's Rice Mill Cafe, Georgetown County Sheriff's Office, and Bethel AME Church. 

Entertainment will be provided by the fabulous Fourclosures and Steve Banta bands.  In addition, an art show consisting of highly awarded local artists exhibiting artistic creations in pottery, fused glass, jewelry, wood sculpture, photography and ladies hats.  

This is the third year for the Taste of Georgetown and we expect over 1,000 participants.  We hope you will consider attending and inviting your friends to sample the culinary delights of Georgetown County restaurants, enjoying the art show and listening to some fabulous music.  

For more information, CLICK HERE or visit our website at Taste of Georgetown. 

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South Carolina ranked second-worst in the nation in the latest look at the rate of women killed by men - the second year in a row the state has climbed up the violence list.

South Carolina for years has ranked among the top 10 worst in the nation when it comes to violence against women, and advocates were disappointed to see that has not changed.

The new rating, from 2010, is up from seventh the previous year and ninth the year before that. Several years before that, the state was No. 1 and No. 2.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS  

SATURDAY, October 27, 2012, - 9AM to 5PM

At - Tidelands Ford- Lincoln

9387 Ocean Hwy. - Pawleys Island, SC 29585

 Ford Motor Company wants to donate up to $6,000 to the Family Justice Center, and Tidelands Ford has generously offered to help us succeed with this exciting offer.  Here is the way this can happen, and we need YOU!

• Ford Motor Company will donate $20 for each valid test drive. [This does not include test-drives conducted in the Ford Crown Victoria, E-Series or any Mercury vehicle.  One donation per household.]

• There will be 10 beautiful cars available to test drive.

• Individuals 18 years or older with a valid driver's license can participate.

• And....those who take the test drive can feel good doing it knowing they are helping FJC clients who are part of our community!

• Tell you neighbors, tell your friends, tell your golfing buddies, tell your co-workers, tell your book club members...tell everyone you know to attend this fun event and help raise critically needed funds for FJC!

 Refreshments will be available, and additional activity is being planned for the day.  It will be wonderful to see the community working together!  

Mrs. Kennedy, originally from Pittsburgh, PA and a lifelong resident of Boston and Cape Cod, Massachusetts, now lives in Murrells Inlet and is an integral part of the Family Justice Center.    She is a former police officer, trial lawyer, and also served as a member of Gov. Mitt Romney's staff.

How did you get involved with the Family Justice Center?

I worked for two years as part of the administrative staff of Gov. Jan Swift and then Gov. Mitt Romney in Massachusettes. I was the Governor's commissioner against domestic and sexual violence. I worked for more than two years in Chapel Hill, N.C. as executive director of the Family Violence and Prevention Center of Orange County.

When I moved to Murrells Inlet in June 2011, I became involved with the Family Justice Center in Georgetown. The concept is just amazing - to provide services for domestic violence victims all in one place.  Service providers in the building include the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office, the Rape Crisis Center, Guardian Ad Litem, case managers, counselors and Circuit Court officials. We also refer victims to outside agencies who can provide additional services  

Why is this center important?

Home should be a safe and happy place no matter what is going on in the world. One in four women's lives are touched by domestic violence, and South Carolina ranks seventh in the nation for women killed by men. It is truly an epidemic and children grow up in these homes, which keeps the cycle going.

How has your background led you to deal with these issues?

I have always been interested in helping in the fight against domestic violence. I was in the first class of female patrol officers in the Boston Police Department, but it took two years to gain entry. The city refused to allow women to take the test to become patrol officers, so I sued City Hall in a discrimination suit. I was one of 11 female patrol officers out of 2,500 officers in Boston.

Now the police department averages 25 percent women in law enforcement agencies, including the upper ranks. After I served for nine years, I practiced law for 18 years, mostly in criminal defense and domestic relations.

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