1 Place Family Justice Center tells Jefferson County commissioners domestic violence remains pervasive and coordinated response improves outcomes

Rebecca Williams, executive director of 1 Place Family Justice Center, told Jefferson County commissioners on April 21 that domestic violence across the county remains widespread and that coordinated, multidisciplinary services reduce homicides and improve survivor outcomes.

Williams told commissioners that 1 Place — a nonprofit family justice center based in the Avondale community that began work in 2014 and incorporated in 2015 — provides victim advocacy, danger assessments, and coordination with law enforcement and prosecutors to identify and protect people at high risk. "We are a family justice center that is here to provide coordinated services for domestic and intimate partner violence, and our main focus is providing coordinated community service to domestic violence in Jefferson County," Williams said.

Williams said the center documents 12,000 to 14,000 calls for service a year across the largest jurisdictions where data are collected (Birmingham, Hoover and areas…