Record Number Of Emergency Protective Orders Issued In One Day In Tulsa

NewsOn6.com

TULSA, Oklahoma -- Tuesday, February 22, 2011 was a record-setting day, according to the Ann Patterson Dooley Family Safety Center in Tulsa. 

It helped 19 individuals file for Emergency Protective Orders.  Center officials say it's a record number of EPOs issued in one day.

They say on an average day, six people seek help with an Emergency Protective Order at the Ann Patterson Dooley Family Safety Center located at 3010 South Harvard. 

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, nationally one in every four women experiences violence in an intimate relationship based on research by the Centers for Disease Control.

An estimated 1.3 million adults are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year and 85% are women.

In a news release the Ann Patterson Dooley Family Safety Center says it offers hope to hurting families by providing wraparound services necessary for victims to leave an abusive relationship.

Funded by a grant from the United States Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women and based on the Family Justice Center model, it is designed to make a victim's search for help and justice more efficient and effective by bringing professionals who provide an array of necessary services together under one roof.

Domestic violence and sexual assault survivors and their families are able to go to one location to talk to an advocate, apply for a protective order, plan for their safety, talk to a police detective, meet with a prosecutor, receive medical assistance, and counsel with a chaplain.

Those in the center include the family violence unit of the Tulsa Police Department, the Tulsa County District Attorney's Office, and the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office; the City of Tulsa; Domestic Violence Intervention Services, Tulsa Metropolitan Ministry; YWCA; and RSVP Safety Shepherd volunteers.