Covering the Land of Lincoln

New fund in Rockford gives legal support to survivors of domestic violence

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) – Jennifer Cacciapaglia says as director of the Mayor’s Office of Domestic and Community Violence Prevention, she sees first hand the strength it takes for a survivor of domestic violence to leave their abuser, but that is only a part of their battle. The fight is also financial, and often involves the custody of their children.

“If you’re with an abuser, if you have a child with someone who is engaged in abusive tactics,” said Cacciapaglia. “To give that person power or control over your child, when you’re not there. My goodness, I can’t think of a more scary thing or idea than a mom.”

“Financial abuse happens in 99% of domestic violence cases,” said County Board Member Angela Fellars. Fellars says financial abuse traps survivors, preventing them from being able to pay for a good attorney. “It’s a terrible loop that our victims get caught in,” said Fellars.

Fellars hopes to close that loop, by donating $17,000 of her American Rescue Plan Funds, to the Family Peace Center. Her hope is, it will give survivors a head start on navigating custody cases.

“Those initial filings, drafting those orders, getting those things into court so that process can start,” said Family Peace Center Operations Manager Sierra Kellen.

Kellen says many survivors lose faith in the court system, because they can’t afford legal services. By launching this program, Kellen, along with Cacciapaglia and Fellars hope they can collect data and see how large of an impact it has.

“What we think of is the faces, of the women who would have benefited from these services,” said Cacciapaglia.

Cacciapaglia says the hope is to allocate around $3,000 to each case, so they can help several survivors.

Comments are closed.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Read More