The Clarion Ledger
March 18, 2002
Domestic violence aid offered
Program pays for needed legal help in abusive situations
By Sherri Williams
Clarion-Ledger Staff Writer
Domestic violence victims needing legal help can get it through
a program launched by Central Southwest Mississippi Legal Services
Corp.
The Domestic Violence Legal Assistance Program fills the gap of
legal resources for domestic violence survivors who can't afford an
attorney.
Domestic violence survivors in Jackson, Vicksburg, Hattiesburg,
Oxford and Pascagoula can all get help. Julia Crockett, deputy
director of Central Southwest Mississippi Legal Services Corp.,
said the program expects to help nearly 1,000 domestic violence
victims.
Crockett said legal help gives domestic abuse survivors a way to
rebuild their lives.
"They have been made to feel by the abuser that no one is going
to help them do anything, so when they come to us they are
desperate," she said. "Those who need legal help and don't get it
feel totally lost. Because then they feel like they are forced to
stay in that situation."
Crockett said the program, funded by a $300,000 grant from the
U.S. Justice Department, has no economic restrictions on who can
get help. Legal services typically helps the poor.
Gladys Bunzy, who said she was in an abusive relationship with a
boyfriend for eight years, said such a program is long overdue and
could be a lifeline for those escaping violent relationships.
"When I finally made up my mind to leave, I had a restraining
order put against him and that was $50 but that was $50 well spent
to me," said Bunzy, 40. "For people who can't afford it, this will
be a godsend ... If a woman knows she is going to get some help
that will be a burden off her mind, if the law will help her keep
that person away from her."
Gwen Bouie-Haynes, project director of the Domestic Violence
Services Center for Catholic Charities Inc., said often domestic
violence survivors do not have the money to seek legal
representation.
"Legal assistance is a major issue for women fleeing a domestic
violence situation," she said. "Often times women are in need of
immediate legal assistance services for the protection of the
mother and the child. To get a protective order you need to be
represented by an attorney."
Crockett said the pilot program was launched in 1998 at the
Haven House Family Shelter Inc., a domestic violence shelter for
women and children in Vicksburg. The program has helped victims in
90 court cases, and 150 legal counseling sessions have been held
there.
Lark Johnson, executive director at the shelter, said some of
the women would never have received legal help had it not been for
the program.
"In the past, they would have had to report their spouse's
income and that would be included in determining whether they were
eligible to get legal help, whether they had access to that money
or not," she said. "They can get help now with no barriers for
custody cases, protective orders and other things."
Johnson said through the program her shelter, which served 187
women and children last year, has been able to form better
relationships with those who work with domestic violence
victims.
"Judges and law enforcement officers are trained to help them
understand what their options are to stabilize a violent home,"
Johnson said. "They are also trained to detect evidence of domestic
violence in a home. So they won't have to solely rely on the
testimony of the victim."
Educating court and law enforcement officers is a program
priority, Crockett said, because in that emotional and painful
situation "sensitivity and education is absent" among some who deal
with victims.
For details about the Domestic Violence Legal Assistance
Program, call 601-948-6752.
