We are excited to announce our formal community partnership with the San Diego Family Justice Center (FJC). The FJC provides adult individual and therapeutic services for victims of domestic violence, legal services for victims of sex trafficking in addition to immigration services for women and children. A comprehensive summary of services can be found on their website. We placed our Jenny’s Jungle children’s library in their center for kids to visit while their mothers are receiving services. This special space was specifically designed with decorative rugs, quotes, and stuffies, to bring comfort, inspiration, and reprieve. It was recently visited by City Attorney, Mara Elliott and City Council Member, Joe LaCava. In addition to creating this area before the Covid-19 pandemic last year, a mental wellness space was requested for staff and volunteers. Many in need of a place of rest after hearing client stories and feeling post-traumatic stress. The wellness room offers staff poetry, self-help, and motivational books and stories.
Our community partnership with the City Attorney’s office includes collaboration with the San Diego Domestic Violence Council and the Teen Relationship Violence Committee. The Wildflower Initiative is sponsoring healthy relationship posters to be distributed and placed into the 52 middle and high schools throughout San Diego County. The posters will convey positive messaging and a QR code with a Domestic Violence Hotline phone number to contact along with teen social media resources to connect. It will look similar to the image here from the Teen Dating Violence Toolkit distributed in February for Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month.
The recipients of this Jenny’s Jungle library spend anywhere from 30 minutes to a few hours in our reading space. Many children have witnessed and been exposed to domestic violence. Our hope is for them to find comfort and reprieve in the time they spend with a book and find a connection in the stories.
Our partnership with the FJC will include a semi-annual book refresh, a Back to School Book, and an Annual Holiday Gift of a book.
