Domestic violence does not respect social economic status. It can be found anywhere and everywhere, from the home of the wealthiest to the most religious family in the Tampa Bay area. Victims of domestic violence live in fear, thinking there are no other alternatives other than to remain with their abuser.
Each year there are between 6,000 and 7,000 police reports of domestic violence. According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, there were 7,824 reported domestic violence offenses in 2008 within Hillsborough County.
Malynna Clarke, a former domestic violence victim, used to live with an abusive husband until she was kicked out of her house, along with her four children. She was forced onto the streets with no one to go to for help.
“I had to go to the police because I had nothing for my kids and myself,” Clarke said. “At the police station, they gave me a brochure referencing me to the Family Justice Center.”
is a collaboration of services that have up to 40 different agencies working together for victims of domestic violence.
At The Family Justice Center, Clarke was handed a brochure to the Bay Area Legal Services (BALS), a regional, non-profit public interest law firm that provides legal counsel to low-income individuals and families.
Clarke had no form of transportation except the bus. Since the nearest bus stop was five miles away and her 6-year-old son has three congenital heart defects, it was difficult for her to get to BALS to sign her legal paper work.
“Bay Area Legal would drive out 39 miles to where I was at and bring a notary with them just so I could sign all of the papers,” Clarke said.
This article appears in Mar 3-9, 2010.