Palomar: A Family Justice Center
We live in an exciting time in Oklahoma City. There’s growth, advancement and forward thinking. But there are other elements being overlooked, hiding under the surface and threatening the positive landscape of our city and entire state—an unseen violence that is jeopardizing the good that many are working towards. So we’re bringing the problem to the light. Violence. It’s a serious issue in Oklahoma City, but many victims are inadvertently discouraged from getting help because of the difficulty in obtaining services. Victims must go from location to location and tell their stories—over and over again—to different agencies such as police, courts, social services, victim services, shelters, etc. to access services.
Depending on the victim’s unique needs, there are potentially more than 30 agencies a victim may need to visit within Oklahoma City.
This disjointed response easily overwhelms people, and they often give up.
For this reason, city leaders and officials came together for the development of a Family Justice Center (FJC), a nationally recognized, evidence-based model that can change the trajectory of Oklahoma City. Called Palomar, Oklahoma City’s FJC is a solution to help victims of violence in our community, a collective group of partners that bring the vital services together under one roof. Before Palomar, it would take a victim over 3 hours to drive to the various Oklahoma City locations, or 14 hours by bus, to get help from all service providers.
Today, a client can find protection, hope and healing in ONE location! Currently, 14 organizations are on-site at Palomar.
This dynamic, private and public partnership which has brought together medical, legal, therapeutic and social services for victims and their children. Currently, 14 organizations are on-site at Palomar, including Northcare, the Oklahoma City Police Department, OKC Artists for Justice, the Oklahoma City Indian Clinic, the Oklahoma City Health Department, Oklahoma County DA’s office, Oklahoma DHS, OU School of Social Work, Rainbow Fleet, Infant Crisis Services, Legal Aid, YWCA, The Dragonfly Home and Parent Promise. Help is here. Join us at Palomar as we come together for a better Oklahoma City. Click here to find out how you can get involved.