Centro Familiar de Justicia del Condado de Alameda

In a recent article on the popular news site Oakland North, writer Erica Alvero explored the role of DeafHope (one of our community partners at the ACFJC) in serving the local hearing impaired community.

We thank Oakland North for taking the time to learn more about our organization and that of our valuable community partners.

Anti-violence Organization Serves Deaf Community Survivors

The main office of the Alameda County Family Justice Center (ACFJC) is quiet. Peaceful. At 11 o’clock in the morning, seven people—a few on their phones, a few sleeping—wait for their names to be called. A Disney Channel theme song bursts out of a cell phone in the hands of a little boy, briefly interrupting the room before his mother mutes the device. A large poster featuring two adolescent boys, one leaning against the other in a protective gesture, hangs above the room. The boy in front holds out his two hands, with words written on each palm: one reads “I have the right to protection” and the other “I have the right to be heard.”

The receptionist greets visitors, flipping seamlessly between Spanish and English, depending on the client or administrator’s need. Clients will go through a navigator, who speaks with them about what kind of help they are seeking, and send them to the appropriate department among the 35 organizations housed in the center, which support victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and exploitation, human trafficking, child abuse, elder abuse and stalking. Continue reading the article...