On Tuesday, Sept. 13 and Wednesday, Sept. 14, Guilford County government – along with the Safe Alliance of Mecklenburg County – is hosting a large conference meant to help workers who are attempting “to build or provide collaborative support for survivors of interpersonal abuse.”
In recent years, Guilford County has become well known for the Guilford County Family Justice Center – now a county department. The center is a one-stop place where victims of various types of abuse can get medical, legal and emotional help and support.
The Fourth Annual North Carolina Family Justice Center and Collaborative Communities Conference will be held at the Marriott Greensboro Downtown at 304 N. Greene St.
Speakers at the event will include NC Attorney General Josh Stein, abuse survivors, victim advocates, court workers, elected officials, law enforcement officers and others.
Each year, the conference brings together people who are interested in improving the lives of survivors of violence.
Director of the Guilford County Family Justice Center Catherine Johnson, who’s frequently publicly thanked by the Guilford County Board of Commissioners for the work she’s doing, stated in a press release that this event should be valuable for those working on behalf of victims.
“We are excited to host the North Carolina Family Justice Center & Collaborative Communities Conference in Guilford County and share the work happening across multiple sectors to provide safe, supporting centers for survivors of domestic and sexual abuse,” Johnson stated. “A lot has changed since Guilford County hosted the first statewide Family Justice Center Conference in 2017. Today, 11 Family Justice Centers in North Carolina support thousands of people impacted by domestic and sexual violence, with more centers on the way. Together, we work to hold offenders accountable and to give survivors and their families tools to feel safe, embrace hope, and transform their lives.”
This year, Stein will speak on improving the state’s criminal justice system, and there will be plenty of other speakers as well as seminars and panel discussions on relevant issues.
Some of the topics this year will include the Family Justice Center model in North Carolina, cold case sexual assault investigations, criminal justice reform, racial equity, civil court remedies for victims and the proper role of law enforcement in these types of cases.
Dear Lord, please help Guilford County.
I find it sadly humorous that Josh Stein would be a featured speaker at a conference that will be concentrating on cold case sexual assault cases and criminal justice reform. His office as attorney general has not done enough to rid the state of the backlog of rape kits collected. There are so many rapist still at large because of the backlog. When was the last time, or any time for that matter you have heard the attorney general push for active time for criminals who violate the law in violent crimes or those who are multiple offenders. The answer is, you have not. I’m afraid our criminal justice system will not protect we the citizen until we start holding criminals accountable. We have a sheriff who refers to inmates as residents, a police force and sheriffs office that are constrained by the “Wokes” political correctness. This is just another feel good conference dedicated to a political end and only paying lip service to the problem. We should be living our state motto, Esse Quam Videri, to be rather than to seem.
Skip Alston says he is no stranger to the White House. It may be last President by whom he is invited. Nor am I a stranger, having been invited by more Presidents than he has. Mr. Biden saved his postage because he knows I would have accepted his invitation!
As a stand alone term, I do not understand “family justice”.
It covers the range of abuse that can occur within a family. Spousal abuse, child abuse, parental abuse, elder abuse, etc… It can be difficult for victims of family abuse to seek justice for a range of reasons so it is awesome GC provides assistance to these folks.
Apparently “family justice” is a form of injustice masquerading as justice. If it were actually justice, they would call it justice.
What comes to mind when I hear “family Justice”, is “equity and inclusion”
Either means I have to pay more taxes, or to be marginalized.