The UF Levin College of Law received about $500,000 from the U.S. Department of Justice to fund a new kind of clinic for victims of domestic violence.
The Intimate Partner Violence Assistance Clinic, opening in May, will be located in the obstetrics, gynecology and pediatrics clinic at Shands at UF.
Victims will receive medical treatment, meet with housing and mental health counselors and seek legal consultation.
Teresa Drake, the clinic’s director and a former assistant state attorney, said the clinic involves a combined effort from the law school, the UF College of Medicine, Shands HealthCare and Peaceful Paths Domestic Abuse Network.
No similar clinic exists on any other campus in the country, and the collaboration could provide a model for future clinics, Drake said.
“We’ve got people around the country watching us,” she said.
In order to meet the grant’s objectives, curricula for the college of medicine and the law school will include domestic violence education and defense training, Drake said.
She said clinic staff will also reach out to the community to inform people about the clinic.
Drake said the clinic’s obstetrician-gynecologists will begin training to learn how to screen for domestic abuse in March.
She plans to bring medical and law students together on community service projects so they can start working and learning from one another.
“The idea is to train these two critical professions to recognize and be able to react when they come across victims of domestic violence,” Drake said.
