Livingston Family Justice Center Lease Renewed

The Upper Cumberland Family Justice Center and the City of Livingston have agreed on a new 20-year lease.

The Family Justice Center provides wrap-around services for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, elder abuse, and child abuse. Executive Director Amy Stockwell said the office originally opened in 2021 as part of a three-year experiment to see how effective it would be in the community.

“The fact that we now have demonstrated what these services are that we provide,” Stockwell said. “And that again they have said yes, they appreciate that we are there and they would like us to continue providing those services is fantastic, so it’s sort of a report card in a way.”

Stockwell said originally, organizers thought the location would be similar to the Cookeville location. But, she said, they quickly learned that Overton County has more high-risk cases per capita than Putnam County.

“I feel like it’s even more important that we were there than I previously thought when it was just an idea,” Stockwell said. “So I think that’s been fantastic we have established a high-risk docket review team for those high-risk cases.”

Stockwell said the family justice centers are important to the Upper Cumberland as often times victims would have to go to multiple locations to get the services and help they need.

“There were some obstacles for victims who were suffering from domestic violence to achieving independence without that violence,” Stockwell said. “And so one of those was accessibility, knowledge of resources, and transportation is always an issue, so if you come to the family justice center we can rally all of the resources that are available.”

The Family Justice Center has plans in the future to expand into more communities within the Upper Cumberland. Stockwell said those expansions will all depend on grant funding they receive as funding year to year can be volatile.

The Upper Cumberland Family Justice Center is the only multi-county Justice Center in Tennessee.