FORSYTH TOWNSHIP, MI-- A new domestic violence victim support facility has been established at KI Sawyer.
Marquette County Prosecutor Matt Wiese says the suite contains three secured rooms. They will house a full-time domestic violence advocate, law enforcement, and a common space for groups or meetings.
Wiese says Forsyth Township represents about 8 percent of Marquette County’s population, but it accounts for about 24 percent of its domestic violence cases. He says most of those cases originate at Sawyer.
“We wanted to have an advocate there. We wanted to have a law enforcement space there, kind of to let people know that we’re focusing on those cases more, to make it more convenient for survivors of domestic violence so that they don’t have to drive all the way to Marquette,” he says.
Wiese says the sooner law enforcement is involved and lets survivors know their options, the better the result will be.
The facility is part of the county’s Blueprint for Safety Domestic Violence Project. A $499,000 Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women grant will pay for the project over the next three years.
