The Morning Star Advocacy Program was established in 1997 with one part-time advocate assisting victims of domestic violence in Davidson County General Sessions Court. This became a full-time position in 1998 serving victims in both General Sessions and Circuit Courts. Due to the number of victims needing assistance, in 2005 an additional part time-time advocate was added to our staff. In 2006, certain Orders of Protection were transferred to Juvenile Court and the part-time Court Advocate increased her hours to full time.
In 2008, Morning Star Sanctuary opened a satellite office in the Davidson County Justice Center building where two additional Court Advocates were located to assist victims with their petitions for Orders of Protection. Morning Star was offered the opportunity to provide this new service because of the credible working relationship with the court system that had been achieved over the years.
In 2011, Morning Star Sanctuary Court Advocates in General Session Court,
Juvenile Court and Circuit Court served 1,194 victims.
This assistance included:
In-depth explanations of judge's rulings
Providing resources
Providing instructions regarding violations of rulings
Court appearance preparation
Connecting clients with various legal and court resources
Reviewing detailed safety planning with every client who comes in contact with the domestic violence court(s)
Testifying in the court proceeding(s)
In 2011, Court Advocates in the Morning Star satellite office in the Justice Center
office assisted 1,897 victims with their Orders of Protection.
If you would like more information about the Morning Star Sanctuary
Court Advocacy Program, please click HERE.
