REMARKS OF DISTRICT ATTORNEY DANIEL F. CONLEY Family Justice Center Boston Open House October 17, 2005 We stand here today in a shining example of what happens when people from diverse walks of life channel their energies and expertise toward a shared goal and a good cause. The Family Justice Center of Boston is the first such facility in the nation that offers such a broad range of services to so wide a spectrum of victims: It is the first to provide so many in-house coordinated services to not only victims of domestic violence, but to victims of child abuse as well. This center is what happens when the best of ideas is embraced by the best professionals in their field with the best of intentions. I would be remiss if I, too, did not speak briefly about those partners. First and foremost, I would like to recognize the person who was the driving force behind the conversion of this building into center for victims' services, a man who realized that the dreams and aspirations that inspire this place needed bricks and mortar to house them. When you want to get something done in Boston, you can have no better friend than Mayor Thomas Menino. Under the mayor's direction and leadership, the city donated this building to the Family Justice Center and is undertaking the renovations. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I also thank Commissioner Kathleen O'Toole for her dedication to this idea. The commissioner created the Boston Police Department's Family Justice Division because she understands the similar issues faced by victims of domestic and sexual violence and child abuse, and she understands that those issues are most effectively addressed through a coordinated approach. We thank her for assigned her Family Justice Division to the center, and for taking responsibility for the security of this building. Another on-site partner that shares an especially close relationship to my office is the Children's Advocacy Center of Suffolk County, which will be moving to this building from its current office space inside the DA's office. The Children's Advocacy Center, under the leadership of Susan Goldfarb, does vital work, providing a multi-disciplinary approach to serving children whose lives have been affected by abuse. One longstanding supporter of the CAC - both clinically and financially - has been Children's Hospital. The hospital is generously helping us medical and waiting rooms at this center, and I thank hospital president James Mandell and all members of the hospital's Child Protection Team for helping us serve some of society's most vulnerable members. A new partner of the Children's Advocacy Center is Equity Office Properties, which has provided assistance through toy donations and CAC publications. Equity is a prime example of the good that results when the private sector joins forces with non-profits to do good. I also want to recognize the Junior League of Boston, which has undertaken a year-long project to outfit and decorate waiting rooms and interview rooms at the CAC, and the Art Connection, which has donated some of the artwork hanging in the building and will work with the partners to create a mural for the building. The planners of this building have left open spaces for this center to grow, as we envision and welcome new partners and services in the future. And there is room for the business community and private citizens of Suffolk County to help us grow that vision - there are many opportunities to sponsor and support the center's varied operations. What all of us, working together, have achieved is a safe and secure place where we will bring justice to the abused, and bring abusers to justice. When a victim of domestic abuse walks through that front door, she will be entering a world of new possibilities: A world where caring and compassionate professionals from all walks of life will help ensure her health, find safe housing, fine-tune job skills and prepare for an interview, address her spiritual needs. When a victim of child abuse comes through that door, that child will be entering a world where our partners are committed to the idea that childhood should be a time of innocence, trust, and wonder, and where we will do everything in our considerable power to heal the wounds caused when those things are stolen in the first season of life. When a victim of sexual assault comes through that door, she or he will be entering a world where they will be treated with dignity and provided with medical and emotional care from the finest hospitals and advocacy groups in this city that is reknown for stellar treatment of patients. Through that front door and down these halls, victims will be welcomed at so many different thresholds, that when crossed, one by one, will illuminate the path to a new and better life, one free of abuse and fear. The front door of this building is a passage to hope.