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The Family Justice Center of Contra Costa and Solano County is set in the coming weeks to debut the organization’s long-anticipated South County Center, with the move set to expand the organization’s services to residents in the San Ramon Valley.
The Danville site was selected after a series of discussions and deliberations with officials from the Family Justice Center and local officials, including meetings with both the Danville Town Council and the San Ramon City Council and the city managers of both communities aimed at feeling out where in the San Ramon Valley might be best suited for the center.
Earlier in the year, officials had been eying to place the new center at the site of the new San Ramon Police Department headquarters and South County Training Facility at 2401 Crow Canyon Road in San Ramon, with the support of the City Council and SRPD Chief Denton Calrson.
However, that move would have required the relocation of several offices at the site, with the cost of doing so ultimately being deemed prohibitive, District 2 Supervisor Candace Andersen told DanvilleSanRamon. With that option ultimately taken off the table, Andersen and other officials and organizers had to look elsewhere.
As it turned out, Andersen didn’t have to look far. The site ultimately selected – and set to debut soon – at 319 Diablo Road sits directly across from her Danville office.
“There’s a large ‘for lease’ sign; I know the property owners, and it’s a nice older office space, so they looked at it and said ‘this is perfect,'” Andersen said. “Not a lot of tenant improvements are needed. It’s got a really good freeway location, lots of parking on site, multiple entrances. Also there’s a level of anonymity – they don’t want to be in a busy place where they might be seen.”
An ongoing point of discussion from Andersen and other supporters of the Family Justice Center and its South County expansion is the misconception that compared with other parts of Contra Costa County – such as Richmond, Concord, and Antioch, where existing Family Justice Center locations in the county operate – residents the southern portion of the county and the San Ramon Valley in particular don’t face the same issues with domestic violence and abuse, or the same need for services as other less affluent communities.
“It finally gives us a presence that previously hadn’t had in the south end of Contra Costa County, because there’s a perception that everyone’s doing just fine, no one has any problems, and of course that’s not true and we want people to reach out for help when they need it,” Andersen said.
In addition to facing the same struggles with domestic violence and abuse as communities throughout the country do, Andersen added that her constituents in District 2 have particular needs, especially women who are financially dependent on their spouses, and especially women from other countries.
“It gets even more complicated when you have someone who’s a newly arrived immigrant from another country who might not even be aware of what the laws are in the United States,” Andersen said. “We see statistics from the San Ramon and Danville police departments that we have calls for domestic violence in our community, and we know, sadly, that it is underreported.”
With this in mind, Andersen said it was important for the center to serve speakers of numerous languages including Korean, Farsi, Spanish, and Chinese. According to a press release from the Family Justice Center, 44% of San Ramon residents speak languages other than English at home, with 37% of San Ramon residents and 17% of Danville residents born outside of the United States.
“Domestic violence takes place in all segments of our community regardless of income, race, religion or culture,” said Susan Kim, executive director for the Family Justice Center’s Contra Costa and Solano branch, in the Nov. 8 press release. “Children and youth are uniquely affected by exposure to violence. In wealthier areas, victims face challenges as abusers wield their money, power and influence to control relationships. At the same time, Contra Costa’s immigrant communities need accessible, culturally competent outreach and services.”
In addition to supporting survivors of domestic violence and abuse, Andersen noted that the center is set to offer support for survivors of elder abuse and access to adult protective services in general, as well as to social services via a county liaison who is set to operate on-site.
“It’s really a place where anyone who is feeling that they are being taken advantage of or harmed can go to have immediate access to resources,” Andersen said.
While the move into the center required minimal legwork and faced minimal friction, the few tenant improvements that were necessary prior to the center’s debut were subject to a permitting process via the Danville Town Council, at which point she said councilmember Newell Arnerich – an architect by trade – played a key role in expediting the process.
“He stepped in and redrew plans for them so he could then walk into the Town of Danville’s planning department so they could all be approved,” Andersen said.
Arnerich, who recently won reelection to his seventh term on the council, said he was also sensitive to the need for the South County site and the importance of the Family Justice Center’s services in the San Ramon Valley.
“As an architect and community volunteer, I was honored to contribute in a small way by donating architectural services,” Arnerich told DanvilleSanRamon. “This included providing construction plans, obtaining permits from the Town of Danville and the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District, overseeing construction, and offering general support for the new office.”
“The Family Justice Center’s work complements and strengthens the efforts of other local organizations, such as Discovery Counseling Center, fostering a healthier, more connected, and inclusive community in the San Ramon Valley,” he continued. “I am proud to support such a meaningful endeavor that will positively impact countless lives in our area.”
Another key figure in expediting the new center’s rapid development was Kaiser Permanente, Andersen noted, with the center primarily furnished with donated furniture from the healthcare company that was no longer needed after it shifted a swath of its administrative workers from its Oakland offices to a smaller location in Pleasanton.
While the South County Center has garnered widespread support from local officials and organizations, Andersen herself has been at the center of the push for expanding the Family Justice Center to the San Ramon Valley and a longtime advocate for the organization. In particular, she is credited with securing $2.5 million in Measure X funding that enabled the expansion to come to fruition.
The project is also being funded by a $382,500 federal grant from the U.S. Administration for Children and Families’ Office of Family Violence Prevention and Services.
Andersen said that the new center is close to being fully operational as of this week during a “soft-launch” period, and set to be fully open by the start of December. A grand opening and ribbon cutting for the center is scheduled for Dec. 10 at 3 p.m.
