Two secure locations in Firebaugh and Reedley will offer the videoconferencing from the B.F. Sisk courthouse to those in need of domestic violence assistance. The videoconference will be made available in Spanish and other languages on weekdays during business hours. For safety reasons, the locations of the videoconference offices are not being disclosed to the public, but will be provided to those who make an appointment through the Marjaree Mason Center’s hotline, 559-233-HELP.

Stacy Gomez, Marjaree Mason Center’s director of legal services, said offering the videoconferences in these rural areas is the second phase of a collaborative project that began last December with the opening of a Marjaree Mason Center advocates’ office at the Sisk courthouse to provide onsite services.

“We know that persons living in rural areas don’t have the same access to services as those living in the city of Fresno,” Gomez said in a statement. “They often face language and transportation barriers with obtaining restraining orders and other forms of supportive services. Through this collaborative project, we hope to make services more accessible to rural residents throughout Fresno County.”
 
Family Law Supervising Judge D. Tyler Tharpe, who is leading the project, said the videoconference advocate services are part of the court’s ongoing mission to expand access to services for all Fresno County residents.

“The Fresno Superior Court is proud to be part of this domestic violence assistance project that is the first of its kind involving a California court,” Tharpe said in a statement. “It’s on the leading edge of a growing movement to use technology to expand access to court and community services for residents regardless of where they live.”