The passion to change how Nashville/Davidson County, Tennessee provided services to domestic & sexual violence victims was the foundation for the development of The Mary Parrish Center for Victims of Domestic and Sexual Violence (MPC).

The desire to change Nashville into a community that demonstrated the understanding that the onus to provide assistance to victims rested on the community itself, and not on the victims seeking services, predicated the opening of the center and dictated its mission: to provide streamlined access to services that promote the safety self-sufficiency and well being of victims from one central location.

Since opening in 2001, the MPC has eliminated many of the logistical barriers to obtaining services by breaking through bureaucratic complexities and fighting to remove the obstacles that created them.

The agency accomplished this by:

??One Stop? Facilitation to an Array of Comprehensive Services ?

Locating in an area that is easily assessable ?

Providing comprehensive legal and support services from one location

Today, the MPC is a unique non-residential program that provides assistance with:

• petitions for Orders of Protection,
• pro bono legal representation,
• court advocacy,
• personalized safety planning,
• victim injury compensation filings,
• emergency shelter placement,
• resume writing and employment placement,
• food, clothing,
• child-care,
• long-term housing,
• case management,
• counseling,
• long- term therapy and transportation.

The agency believes that the most effective advocacy is one that presents options to victims and then assists them in making educated decisions about the right course of action.

Not what the agency or advocate thinks best for them, but what they think is best for them selves.

Because of this belief, the MPC places no limitations on the services it renders. Victims receive assistance at the MPC for as long and as often as they need help.

To fill the gaps in services that address the on-going needs of victims, the MPC continually evaluates and expands the services it provides.

Calls to the center from victims who need support services after they leave shelter have increased steadily since the agency began.

Because of this, the agency has established an indigent victim emergency fund that provides direct financial help for an array of emergency needs, many of which occur long after an abusive relationship has ended.

These funds have been used for: car repairs, moving expenses, medical and dental costs, school tuitions, utility bills, rent, child-care and identity/name changes.