Carmen Pitre remembers seeing her vision for Sojourner Family Peace Center come to life 10 years ago.
Shortly after Sojourner’s new building opened in 2016, bringing several organizations under one roof, the center provided services over the course of seven hours to a young boy whose mother was killed, something “that would’ve taken six weeks outside of the Family Peace Center,” said Pitre, chief executive officer.
That 72,000-square-foot building, at North Sixth and West Walnut streets, was the largest family justice center in the country when it opened. The shelter cares for domestic violence victims – about 10,000 annually – and their children and connects them to a number of partner groups with offices in the building, including Children’s Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Police Department’s Sensitive Crimes division, Legal Action of Wisconsin, the African American Breastfeeding Network and the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office.
The center “is like a lighthouse to survivors that says, ‘this is important. You’re important. And we’re invested in your life and making things better,'” Pitre said.
At an event May 28 celebrating the building’s 10-year anniversary, city and county leaders praised Sojourner’s collaborative model. They also acknowledged more outreach work needs to be done as domestic violence homicides continue at a high rate in Milwaukee.
“Our overall way of doing business in this community now related to domestic violence changed when we built this center,” said Milwaukee County District Attorney Kent Lovern. “We took a much more holistic view of the family.”
Lovern, a longtime supporter of the center’s construction, recalled traveling to San Diego with Pitre in 2007 to tour one of the country’s first family justice centers, as they were in the early stages of making the Sojourner center a reality. Now about 20 years on, he lauded the partnerships at the center.
“We know that if they’re connected to these services, lives are in fact saved,” he said.
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said 19 people have been killed so far this year in Milwaukee due to domestic violence. Sojourner and other places like it have extended their hand, he said, and he urged people who need help to reach out and grab it.
“This building is an actual monument to partnership,” Johnson said, adding that “we still have more people that we need to reach.’
Sojourner just celebrated its 50th anniversary. Before the latest building opened, the Sojourner Truth House shelter was located at North 33rd Street and West Highland Boulevard. Driven by Pitre’s vision to centralize services, the organization raised $26 million in private funding, she said, and the state provided a $10.6 million grant.
Erwin Estacio, captain of the Milwaukee Police Department’s Sensitive Crimes division, said the center makes it possible for the police to develop good relationships with crime victims and their advocates.
“That is critical to being able to hold offenders accountable,” he said.
One woman, who asked to go by the name Lynn Marie, said she benefited from Sojourner’s services after she suffered sexual assault. She wanted people to know that Sojourner is “the first place to start.”
“This place was a lifesaver to me,” she said. “If it wasn’t for the people here, I don’t know where I’d be today.”
Where to find help for domestic violence
Victim advocates can help with safety planning. Calls to advocates are confidential and do not involve law enforcement.
Kids Matter Inc. provides free legal services and specialized assistance to individuals caring for children impacted by domestic violence and homicide. Kids Matter can be reached at 414-344-1220 and offers free online resources at www.kidsmatterinc.org.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 800-799-7233.
The National Sexual Assault Hotline is 800-656-4673.
End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin has a statewide directory of resources at endabusewi.org/get-help.
Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault has a statewide directory of resources at wcasa.org/survivors/service-providers.
The Sojourner Family Peace Center in Milwaukee operates a 24-hour confidential hotline at 414-933-2722.
The Milwaukee Women’s Center offers a 24-hour crisis line at 414-671-6140.
We Are Here Milwaukee provides information on culturally specific organizations at weareheremke.org.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 10 years on, Sojourner celebrates bringing many services under one roof
Reporting by Sophie Carson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
