O'Connor House Announces New Diane Halle Center for Family Justice

TEMPE, Ariz., March 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announced today that, in response to the initiatives launched through the partnership of the O'Connor House with the Avon Program for Women and Justice, the Arizona State University Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law will house the new Diane Halle Center for Family Justice.  The center is being funded by a generous grant of $1 million over five years from the Bruce T. Halle Family Foundation to the ASU College of Law.

"It is wonderful news that the Halle Foundation, the Avon Foundation for Women and the ASU College of Law have made significant financial commitments to work on the issue of domestic violence," said Justice O'Connor.  "Solutions for domestic violence require a comprehensive approach to connect the wealth of resources that are needed to tackle this issue -- from legal to social welfare to health services.  This is a challenging issue that fits with our mission at the O'Connor House which is to bring people and ideas together so we can reach consensus and take action on difficult issues that affect us all. "

O'Connor House also announced a grant from NextCare Urgent Care of $1 million over five years to establish the NextCare Urgent Care Family Violence Legal Clinic within the Diane Halle Center for Family Justice.  Working with O'Connor House, this grant will engage students and professors from the College of Law, College of Nursing and Health Innovation, School of Social Work and School of Social and Family Dynamics to act as victim advocates and provide a comprehensive network of support and protection for domestic violence victims.

"NextCare Urgent Care has worked through domestic violence shelters for nearly a decade to provide free, confidential care for victims of this terrible crime.  Now, we are honored to be a part of this holistic approach to end domestic violence by partnering with O'Connor House in this center.  I am confident that this partnership will help us better provide for the full continuum of needs of these victims," said Dr. John Shufeldt, Founder and Chief Executive Officer.

"Providing access to justice both for victims of family violence and for other poor families who are in need of legal service is often a matter of life and death," noted Diane Halle, President of the Bruce T. Halle Family Foundation.  "To make real change happen for our families, we need to make sure that all who are in need have access to justice.  There is real urgency to take action now."

Lucia Fakonas Howard, President of the Board of Directors of O'Connor House, emphasized the importance of the team's collaborative approach.  "We are an outstanding example of how to bring many partners into a project to create more synergy," she said.   "For example, NextCare Urgent Care Family Violence Legal Clinic, in addition to helping victims and families, will provide valuable hands-on educational opportunities for ASU students who will work with those clients under the direction of trained professionals, while the Avon Program for Women and Justice is providing funding to support  the Center."

Carol Kurzig, president of the Avon Foundation for Women said, "One in three women globally will be a victim of violence in her lifetime.  That statistic is what has compelled the Avon Foundation for Women to commit more than $16 million to date to help bring attention to eradicating violence against women and girls, and improve their access to justice.  As part of Avon's commitment to this issue, we are proud to support the Avon Program for Women and Justice at the O'Connor House."

Noted Paul Schiff Berman, Dean and Foundation Professor of Law, Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, Arizona State University, "This new Center and the NextCare Urgent Care Family Violence Legal Clinic within it will quickly become models for the nation because they will bring together students in law, social work, nursing, psychology, and criminology to work holistically on the complex web of issues surrounding family violence.  This unprecedented collaboration is only possible through the College of Law's commitment to work with community partners to help address pressing social problems while training a new generation of public spirited lawyers."

The domestic violence project is one of two key initiatives launched by O'Connor House.  The O'Connor House project is committed to furthering the vision of former Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor to encourage purposeful civil talk which will lead to positive civic action.  It is her belief that to solve any complex problem requires that stakeholders be brought together to discuss all views openly and honestly and be encouraged to reach consensus that results in concrete steps that advance effective solutions.

The O'Connor House project was established in 2008 to preserve the original adobe home of U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and her husband, John.  As the first woman elected majority leader of the Arizona State Senate in 1972, Sandra and John O'Connor brought many decision-makers home where they were treated to western hospitality that often included an informal, home-cooked meal.  In a relaxed and convivial atmosphere, senators were encouraged to reach consensus on issues vital to the state, even reaching across party lines to write Senate bills.  Nationally, the house had significance as O'Connor was interviewed there for the U.S. Supreme Court.  It also played a world role since Sandra and John introduced many international luminaries to Arizona living there.  Once it became apparent that the house could be reassembled and relocated in Tempe's Papago Park, Justice O'Connor envisioned that it once again could become a place for people to gather to solve problems affecting Arizona and the nation.

For more information on O'Connor House and the Diane Halle Center for Family Justice, contact Lucia Fakonas Howard (602) 380-1636.

SOURCE O’Connor House

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