Oak Ridge Today

YWCA receives funding to advocate for domestic violence victims in Anderson, Roane, Loudon

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The YWCA building is pictured above on Oak Ridge Turnpike. (Submitted photo)

Note: This story was updated at 1:50 p.m.

The YWCA has received funding that will expand its victim advocacy services to families with a history of domestic violence and who work with the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services East Region in Anderson, Loudon, and Roane counties.

The award—$179,795 during a three-year period—was received by YWCA Knoxville and the Tennessee Valley.

The DCS liaison victim advocate will be co-located at the YWCA’s Oak Ridge location and the DCS East Region site in Anderson County, a press release said.

YWCA is one of only four organizations across the state to receive Victims of Crime Act funding from the Tennessee Office of Criminal Justice Programs, the press release said.

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DA receives $240,000 federal grant for Family Justice Center

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Family Justice Center Site Coordinator Melissa Miller and Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark are pictured above at the signing of the grant contract for the Anderson County Family Justice Center in July 2019. (Submitted photo)

The district attorney general in Anderson County has received a $240,000 federal grant to set up a family justice center.

The Anderson County Family Justice Center will help combat child abuse, domestic abuse, and elder abuse, Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark said in press release on Tuesday. It will be organized and formed during the first year or two of the grant contract, Clark said.

“Upon opening the actual center, there will be a location where (Anderson County residents) with abuse issues can go to get services from a variety of providers who will all have a representative located in the Family Justice Center,” Clark said. “In addition, referrals may be made by the Family Justice Center to other organizations that can provide help.”

Melissa Miller has been hired as the site coordinator of the Family Justice Center.

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First of its kind, Family Drug Treatment Court opening in Anderson County

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Family Drug Treatment Court Ribbon Cutting July 11 2018

A Family Drug Treatment Court, the first of its kind in Anderson County, launched this week, and there will be a ribbon-cutting next week, a press release said.

The Anderson County Family Drug Treatment Court will be called R2: The Recovery and Resilience Program, the press release said.

R2 is a program for juvenile offenders who have substance misuse issues and have not been successful in maintaining drug abstinence. The program is a minimum of nine months and will incorporate treatment, family therapy, and group therapy paired with accountability and goal setting, the press release said.

“By addressing barriers in the home, we will enable adolescents in Anderson County to break free from the grip of generational drug abuse, setting them up to be successful contributors to our society,” said Anderson County Juvenile Court Judge Brian Hunt.

The press release said the program has been a priority for a large number of stakeholders in the community for many years. [Read more…]