Tag Archive for: The North County Family Justice Center

Hispanic Heritage: Meet Care Coordinator Lisbet Perez

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we are highlighting the stories of DA employees and what inspired them to pursue a career in public service. In this video you will meet One Safe Place Care Coordinator Lisbet Perez, whose personal journey lead her to dedicate her career to helping others who have gone through the same experiences as her.

You can read more Hispanic Heritage Month stories from the DA’s Office, here.

One Safe Place Celebrates 2 year anniversary

One Safe Place Celebrates 2-Year Anniversary

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan announced that One Safe Place: The North County Family Justice Center in San Marcos, is celebrating its two-year anniversary and has released an Impact Report, which highlights the achievements and services offered at this state-of-the-art Family Justice Center. The report was released during a celebration at One Safe Place on Monday with more than 100 community partners, leaders and dignitaries in attendance. WATCH a video of the 2-year anniversary celebration below. Read more about the milestones accomplished by One Safe Place, here.

 

The First Two Years of One Safe Place.

DA’s One Safe Place Hits Milestone of Supporting More Than 6,000 People in North County

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan announced that One Safe Place: The North County Family Justice Center in San Marcos, is celebrating its two-year anniversary and has released an Impact Report, which highlights the achievements and services offered at this state-of-the-art Family Justice Center. The report was released during a celebration at One Safe Place on Monday with more than 100 community partners, leaders and dignitaries in attendance.

Watch a video of the two-year anniversary celebration, here. You can read the complete Two-Year “Impact Report” for One Safe Place, here.

For two years, One Safe Place: The North County Family Justice Center became a place for hope, healing and justice for over 6,000 victims and survivors including more than 2,000 children,” said DA Stephan. Our collaboration with an unprecedented 107 community and government partners, especially Palomar Health and its nationally accredited Child Advocacy Center, allows us to meet the safety and health needs of every person who walks through our doors from help with trauma services, restraining orders, sexual assault and domestic violence examinations to connections with housing and jobs that allow victims to live with dignity and safety.”

Since opening on July 5, 2022, One Safe Place has supported more than 6,000 people, provided legal services to over 1,600 people, and received more than 14,000 calls to its helpline. The center serves as a community hub, where more than 23,000 people have taken part in various public safety-related events, trainings and meetings. One Safe Place provides support services all under one roof to anyone who has experienced any type of crime or victimization. Currently, One Safe Place collaborates with some 107 community organizations and agencies from across the county.

The two-year history of services offered at One Safe Place include:

  • Adult forensic examinations following a sexual assault, performed by trained health care professionals who assess a victim’s health care needs, coordinate treatment for any injuries, offer support and crisis intervention, and collect and document any potential evidence. More than 280 adult forensic evidentiary exams have been conducted.
  • A nationally accredited Child Advocacy Center which has conducted more than 100 medical exams and 578 forensic interviews with children and teens since opening.
  • Crime victims have received over 10,000 services including safety planning, resource navigation, hands-on assistance with applications for services, and more.
  • Palomar Health Trauma Recovery Center therapists conducted 6,756 therapy sessions with children, teens, and adults.
  • 1,358 individuals helped through a restraining order clinic.
  • 440 crime victims were helped to obtain safe shelter and housing.
  • One Safe Place provided food, clothing, shoes, and over 30,000 packs of diapers in our first two years.

The two-year anniversary celebration included formal remarks from San Marcos Mayor Rebecca Jones, Carlsbad Police Chief Christie Calderwood, Palomar Health Executive for Strategic Planning Sheila Brown, and Mexican Consul General Alicia Kerber-Palma.

Three survivors who have received services at One Safe Place spoke at the ceremony, including Amy, who took part in a mentorship program called Pathways and a summer camp called Camp Hope, designed for children who have experienced trauma.

Pathways events have helped me feel normal, when everything in my life at the moment was everything but normal,” Amy said. “One Safe Place has become my safe haven. I can confidently say I feel safe when I am here. Every single person here, with a simple hello, has made me feel valued.”

As part of the two-year anniversary celebration, a conference room was dedicated and named after Dr. Wilma Wooten, retired San Diego County Chief Public Health Officer and was named the “Dr. Wooten Health and Healing Collaboration Space.” Dr.Wooten was a champion for victims recognizing the importance of collaboration between public health and public safety professionals. The onsite Forensic Health Services Suite was also named the “Cathy McLennan Forensic Health Services Suite” named after the late Cathy McLennan, a nationally recognized forensic interviewer from Palomar Health who dedicated her career to the protection of children.

One Safe Place: The North County Family Justice Center is located at 1050 Los Vallecitos Blvd., San Marcos, CA 92069. It is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on the first Saturday of the month from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.

5 Things About One Safe Place

5 THINGS to know about One Safe Place: The North County Family Justice Center

The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office is celebrating the two year anniversary of opening One Safe Place: The North County Family Justice Center and in this video, District Attorney Summer Stephan shares 5 things you should know about this amazing family justice center that is an important resource for our community:

  1. One Safe Place is a safe place for anyone who has been a victim of a crime to receive comprehensive free services such as acute crisis care, advocacy, counseling, legal services, childcare, connections to shelter and housing, and social service benefits – all under one roof.
  2. We opened on July 5, 2022, and we’re celebrating our 2nd year anniversary.
  3. In just two years, One Safe Place served over 5,200 crime victims and received the help that they needed.
  4. The symbol of One Safe Place is Hope, Healing and Justice. Those are the three things that we provide, and we do it with the help of over 100 partners agencies working collaboratively with the DA’s Office to provide hope, healing, and justice for the community.
  5. We serve every type of victim with a focus and expertise on victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, human trafficking, elder abuse, hate crimes, and gang-related crimes. But every victim of crime is welcome to walk in.

To learn more about One Safe Place, just visit OneSafePlaceNorth.org.

 

 

District Attorney Summer Stephan stands at a podium for a press conference with the Consulate General of Mexico Alicia Kerber-Palma, Attorney General of Baja California Maria Elena Andrade, the Director of Baja California Justice Center for Women Magdalena Bautista, and the Director of One Safe Place: The North County Family Justice Center Claudia Grasso.

DA Announces Historic International Partnership with Baja California Attorney General and Family Justice Center

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan announced today the start of a historic partnership with the Attorney General of the State Baja California, the State of Baja California Justice Center for Women and the DA’s One Safe Place: The North County Family Justice Center. There are close to 300 Family Justice Centers world-wide and this agreement makes One Safe Place the first Family Justice Center to have an international partnership. Baja California is the 12th-largest state by area in Mexico.

The DA also announced the renewal of a partnership between the Consul General of Mexico in San Diego and the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office for the Mexican Consulate to have presence at One Safe Place via community outreach, crime prevention and vital services for the victims we serve. The partnerships were solidified with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today. [WATCH video of signing ceremony here.]

“Criminals who prey on victims for human trafficking, exploitation and violence know no borders,” said DA Summer Stephan, “Thousands cross the border every day between Tijuana and San Diego to go to work, school or visit family and friends and we know that there are many who are victims of crime on either side of the border. With this partnership, we will work together to cross-refer victims and provide vital services on both sides of the border to further regionalize help and ensure they can get to a safe and healing place no matter where they live or work.”

Since opening in July 2022, One Safe Place has served over 5,500 individuals, provided legal services to approximately 1,500 people, and received more than 16,000 calls and emails to their various helplines. One Safe Place provides support services all under one roof to anyone who has experienced child abuse, sexual assault, domestic violence, hate crime, elder abuse, human trafficking, violent loss, family violence, or other abuse or victimization. This is all in collaboration with over 100 community organizations and agencies like the Mexican Consulate and now the Attorney General of the State of Baja California and the State of Baja California Justice Center for Women, created to prevent violence against women and girls by providing legal, psychological and social services. Victims will no longer be forced to cross the border, sometimes waiting hours, to get to services. This partnership will ensure culturally-sensitive referrals for victims to access resources where they live, work or where they are most comfortable.

“Violence against women, children, and vulnerable people leaves a deep mark on their lives. It is necessary to develop and implement action protocols to guarantee comprehensive and sensitive care for victims of gender violence,” said the Attorney General of Baja California, Maria Elena Andrade Ramírez. “For this reason, I thank the San Diego County Attorney’s Office for providing a space where Mexican authorities can assist their fellow citizens who are victims of this crime. Baja California and California share a history of fighting against criminals who commit crimes on both sides of the border. We are convinced that working together is an opportunity to strengthen the bonds of friendship and cooperation to ensure that victims receive help to heal their physical and emotional wounds, as well as guarantee justice for them.”

 

“Considering the reality of gender violence in our state and our close relationship with the United States, strengthening binational cooperation is not only important, it is imperative,” said Magdalena Bautista, Director of the State of Baja California Justice Center for Women. “Violence against women does not recognize borders, so justice and protection should not have limits either. Through this memorandum of understanding, we are taking a significant step to expand our impact and effectiveness in providing care and access to justice for women, and we reaffirm more strongly than ever our commitment to building a future where no woman has to live in fear, and where justice knows no borders.”

District Attorney Summer Stephan stands with the Consulate General of Mexico Alicia Kerber-Palma, Attorney General of Baja California Maria Elena Andrade, the Director of Baja California Justice Center for Women Magdalena Bautista, all holding up the signed MOUs.The renewal of the MOU with the Mexican Consulate further creates opportunities for collaboration with One Safe Place in outreach and prevention work, including the Consulate’s participation in the free informative community event “Cafecito Con La Comunidad” which takes place the second Friday of every month at One Safe Place. Together, the Mexican Consulate and One Safe Place have hosted events on wellness, have made college connections for first generation students and provided Consulate services at One Safe Place to meet the needs of the North County community and alleviate transportation barriers for those who are unable to travel to the Consulate’s main office in downtown San Diego.

“Addressing domestic violence requires a collective effort,” said Alicia Kerber-Palma, Consul General of Mexico in San Diego. “It is crucial that we work together – government agencies, community organizations, and local leaders – to provide support to victims and prevent future cases of abuse. Consular assistance and the protection of Mexican communities abroad through the Consulate General of Mexico in San Diego constitutes the highest priority of our foreign policy.”

 

The continued partnership with the Mexican Consulate has helped strengthen a bridge with the Latino community and helps enhance their trust in law enforcement when reporting crime and seeking help when victimized,” said DA Stephan. “Together we will continue to work to ensure that victims who seek services at One Safe Place, where the Mexican Consulate is an onsite partner, receive culturally sensitive help in their native language that focuses on safety, justice and healing.”  

One Safe Place: The North County Family Justice Center is located at 1050 Los Vallecitos Blvd., San Marcos, CA 92069. It is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturdays from 8 p.m. to 12 p.m. The State Baja California Justice Center for Women is located at Avenida Moctezuma #1, Colonia Residencial de Cortez, Camino Verde, 22190 Tijuana, Baja California, with hours of operation 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

[VIDEO of One Safe Place: The North County Family Justice Center.]

District Attorney Summer Stephan poses for photos with San Diego County Sheriff members honored with Cops of the Quarter Awards at One Safe Place: The North County Family Justice Center.

DA Honors ‘Cops of the Quarter’ at One Safe Place

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan joined our team at One Safe Place: The North County Family Justice Center to honor Sheriff Kelly Martinez and the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department with the “Cops of the Quarter” Award last week. The honored team members pictured have shown valor, compassion and dedication in service to our survivors of domestic violence, child abuse, elder abuse, sexual assault and human trafficking.

The awardees included Captain Kevin Ralph and the SDSO San Marcos substation, deputies, detectives and crime prevention specialists that have truly gone above and beyond every day, giving our survivors a voice and ensuring that every effort is made to bring them hope, healing and justice.

The SDSO teams have been a vital part of the collaborative efforts with our law enforcement partners at One Safe Place and we are thankful for their support to our survivors and staff.

Please join us in congratulating the following honorees:

  • Captain Kevin Ralph & SDSO San Marcos Substation
  • Deputy Michael Benninger
  • Crime Prevention Specialist Nhu Le-Brown
  • Det. Natalie Rivera
  • Det. Ronald Bushnell
  • Deputy Ricardo Andrade
  • Deputy Michael Lee
  • Detective Charles Eglin
  • Deputy Thomas Nelson

To learn more about One Safe Place, click here.

DA Partners with Mexican Consulate to Provide Services at One Safe Place

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan announced today the partnership between the Consul General of Mexico in San Diego and the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office for the Mexican Consulate to locate at the DA’s One Safe Place: The North County Family Justice Center and provide services. The partnership was solidified during the first anniversary celebration of the opening of One Safe Place in San Marcos, with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

“This collaboration with the Mexican Consulate helps strengthen the bridge with the Latino community and will help enhance their trust in reporting and seeking help when victimized. We know from experience, that domestic violence and human trafficking victims are often threatened by their abusers with deportation which keeps them trapped in the cycle of violence,” said DA Stephan. “Together we can work to ensure that victims who seek services at One Safe Place, where the Mexican Consulate will now be an onsite partner, receive culturally sensitive help in their native language, that will focus on safety, justice and healing.”

[See video of signing ceremony here]

Since opening last summer, One Safe Place has served 2,845 individuals, provided legal services to 781 people, and received more than 6,800 calls to their helpline. One Safe Place provides support services all under one roof to anyone who has experienced child abuse, sexual assault, domestic violence, hate crime, elder abuse, human trafficking, violent loss, family violence, or other abuse or victimization. This is all in collaboration with over 90 community organizations and agencies like the Mexican Consulate.

Together, the Mexican Consulate and One Safe Place have hosted events on wellness, have promoted first generation students with college connections and provided Consulate services at One Safe Place to meet the needs of our North County community and alleviate those with transportation barriers who are unable to travel to the Consulate main office in downtown San Diego. The MOU further creates opportunities for collaboration between the Mexican Consulate and One Safe Place in outreach and prevention work, including the Consulate’s participation in the free informative community events “Cafecito Con La Comunidad” that take place the second Friday of every month at One Safe Place.

“I am here today to send a clear message to our community: Victims should not remain silent when abused just because they fear deportation,” Consul General Carlos González Gutiérrez said. “The Mexican Consulate in San Diego has an extensive reach into the immigrant community in the county and will continue to invite immigrants to raise their voice, as there is no reason why they must live with abuse.  We truly value our partnership with One Safe Place and hope, with their help via this MOU, to expand our reach of services and empower those victimized in our community.”

The signing ceremony of the MOU coincided with the one-year anniversary celebration of the opening of One Safe Place that featured a breakfast and program with community partners, including San Marcos Mayor Rebecca Jones, Carlsbad Police Chief Mickey Williams, Escondido Police Chief Ed Varso, CEO of Palomar Health Diane Hansen, among others.

One Safe Place: The North County Family Justice Center is located at 1050 Los Vallecitos Blvd., San Marcos, CA 92069. It is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Saturdays from 8 p.m. to 12 p.m.