Volunteer Lawyers Birmingham

How Volunteer Lawyers Birmingham Fights Back Against Domestic Violence

VLB Teams Up with the Birmingham Bar Association and One Place to Bring Awareness and Deliver Services to Survivors

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, on average nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States.

It’s a chilling statistic and a problem often hidden from view.

Those who work with victims and survivors of domestic violence, however, hear the stories — often tragic — all the time, when out of fear or lack of resources, a person remains stuck in a situation where they continue to face abuse and worse.

Volunteer Lawyers Birmingham (VLB), the Birmingham Bar Association (BBA), and One Place Metro Alabama Family Justice Center — which provides coordinated services to victims and survivors of domestic and sexual violence through a multi-disciplinary team of professionals working together under one roof — recently teamed up for Domestic-Relations Awareness Month in October to help shine a light on the problem and how people can help.

The BBA hosted a breakfast, CLE, and tour of the One Place facility. VLB Managing Attorney Twala Grant Wallace participated on a panel discussion about domestic violence and the need for services of all kinds.

VLB has long placed a priority on serving domestic-violence clients by evaluating their legal needs providing appropriate help, often-working in partnership with agencies such as One Place.

“VLB’s function is twofold,” Wallace says. “First we serve as a triage unit and then we provide legal assistance depending on the situation. When domestic violence victims reach out, we connect them with the YWCA and One Place Family Justice Center to make sure they are in a safe place. One Place is able to provide multiple services to clients. It has been a blessing to have an organization in place to address those needs.”

Once the client has met with One Place or the YWCA, VLB begins helping the client with their other legal needs. Domestic-violence survivors face a variety of

Twala Grant Wallace.

legal hurdles including divorce, child custody, financial issues, and housing where they need a lawyer on their side. “Once we determine that they have filed for a PFA and are safe, we schedule an appointment with one of our volunteer attorneys to prepare a divorce complaint for them,” Wallace says. “During that process, we make sure that they have a Post Office Box to include on their divorce complaint to avoid unnecessarily revealing their whereabouts to their abuser.”

She adds, “Domestic-violence victims are often left in a situation where they have absolutely no resources. VLB is in place to provide a much-needed service at no cost to a client in need.”

Attorney Wallace says she wanted to participate in the panel discussion at the recent BBA event to continue calling attention to a problem too often unseen by those unaffected. “I was motivated to take part in the recent event to recognize Domestic Violence Awareness Month for two main reasons,” Wallace says. “First, because of the importance of the event to victims of domestic violence. Second, because of the awareness that it provides to volunteers and others in the community. The more attention that we can bring to this issue, especially by educating the public, the more strides that we can make in addressing the issue of domestic violence and hopefully significantly decrease the number of cases.”

Allison Dearing, executive director of One Place, elaborates on the purpose One Place serves in the community. “The mission of One Place Family Justice Center is to provide coordinated services to victims and survivors of domestic and sexual violence through a multi-disciplinary team of professionals working together under one roof,” she says. “Because domestic and sexual violence are complex community issues, they require complex community solutions. One Place’s uniquely collaborative model enables us to address holistically the policies, processes, and systems that hinder justice and healing for survivors.”

Dearing adds the services of VLB play an important role in that collaborative model. “Legal representation is one of the most requested services from victims and survivors of domestic violence,” she says. “We know that it is critical for victims to have legal counsel for court proceedings, and often they do not have access to funds to pay for a lawyer. We’re fortunate to partner with organizations like Volunteer Lawyers Birmingham who understand the dangerous dynamics of abusive relationships and are committed to providing an attorney for victims, so they do not have to navigate the court system alone.”

Dearing reiterates the severity of the domestic-violence cases in our community. “In 2021, 74% of all known homicide offenders in Jefferson County had a history of domestic violence,” she says. “When there is no accountability for domestic-violence offenders, domestic violence becomes community violence. As we work to enhance and improve system responses across our community that have traditionally made it more difficult for victims of violence to safely escape a dangerous relationship, it is a privilege to collaborate with Volunteer Lawyers Birmingham in seeking to create a safer community for all.”

Learn more about One Place and how you can help at www.oneplacebirmingham. com. Licensed attorneys interested in volunteering with VLB can contact Michelle Horn Brown at mbrown@vlbham.org.

DA Danny Carr and Allison Dearing.

Judge Marshell Hatcher.