“I want to make sure that for those who feel they don’t have a voice, that we are their voice,” Shannon Starzyk, East Center Director of the Contra Costa Family Justice Center asserted. United by this core principle, the Family Justice Center partnered with Felton Institute’s Angelo Quinto Community Response Team (AQCRT) in Antioch to empower individuals and their families and to promote safety and healing in the community they serve.
Launched in 2011, the Family Justice Center assists families affected by domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, elder abuse, and human trafficking. They help remove barriers and connect individuals and their families with vital resources and support services. The Family Justice Center also partners with various agencies, including family law and immigration attorneys, and local nonprofit organizations such as Felton’s Angelo Quinto Community Response Team (AQCRT).
AQCRT supports the community by providing a 24/7 community response to low-level, non-life-threatening 911 calls. In collaboration with the City of Antioch, the Antioch Police Department, and local community-based organizations such as the Family Justice Center, trained Felton staff provide community members with mental health support, service linkage, and lifesaving skills. Many members of the team, much like the Family Justice Center, come from Antioch, reflecting the community they serve. AQCRT Program Director Alisea Wesley-Clark said, “The community welcomes us. And that’s how we make it safer, because they feel comfortable with the community response team’s presence.” Ms. Wesley-Clark emphasized the importance of the partnership with the Family Justice Center, affirming, “Strong communities are built on relationships that uplift, support and empower one another, creating a foundation for lasting positive impact.” She continued, “And that’s what I feel we have with the Family Justice Center.”
Violence, in particular interpersonal violence that the Family Justice Center responds to, Ms. Starzyk explained, “just doesn’t impact the survivor and their family, but it also impacts the entire community.” The partnership between the Family Justice Center and AQCRT centers safety, dignity, and healing, working together to ensure that individuals, their families and the community are connected to vital resources. Together they provide support and service linkage that empowers the Antioch community.
Ms. Starzyk fondly recalled the day Felton Institute’s President and CEO, Al Gilbert, and Justice Services Division Director Curtis Penn, walked into her office to talk about partnering to strengthen and elevate community members. Together they communicated, “’We really are about this work,’” she said. Ms. Starzyk looks forward to the continuing partnership. “I’m grateful for Curtis and Al showing up,” she shared, then emphasized, “It was showing up that led to this partnership.”
If you would like to know more about Felton Institute’s Angelo Quinto Community Response Team (AQCRT) in Antioch, please visit our program page, email us at infoaqcrt@felton.org, or call Felton Institute at 415-474-7310 and ask for AQCRT.
Felton Institute responds to the needs of our community by providing innovative, evidence-informed social services to transform lives. Our organization offers 50+ programs that address mental health, the unhoused, early care and education, those impacted by the justice system, transitional age youth, as well as aging adults. Our award-winning programs, which have been recognized as national models, combine the latest scientific research with cultural sensitivity and a deep commitment to supporting and reflecting the communities we serve.
Founded in 1889, Felton is the oldest secular non-profit social services provider in the City and County of San Francisco. We have expanded our services across most Bay Area counties and continue to be at the forefront of pioneering new approaches to meet the emerging needs of underserved populations.
We know what it looks like to successfully build community.
We foster impactful change by strengthening the community as a premiere service provider. We also strengthen other service providers by supporting them in their fiscal, human resources, communications, IT and overall agency operations. With Felton’s support, they are able to focus on providing the best services to their clients, doing the work they were meant to do.
Felton empowers the community and ensures successful outcomes to all we engage with.
Felton Institute is a tax-exempt organization registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit under EIN 94-1156530.