skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, May 13, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump and China call off the divorce; Court ruling allows transgender troop removal to proceed; NC University provides guaranteed opportunity to students in struggling region; Program elimination, job loss as DOGE cuts funds for NM's AmeriCorps.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Advocates say Republicans' scaled back Medicaid cuts still put too much in jeopardy. President Trump defends getting a luxury jet from Qatar, and frustration grows among museum executives who say White House is trying to erase history.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Volunteers with AmeriCorps are reeling from near elimination of the 30-year-old program, Head Start has dodged demise but funding cuts are likely, moms are the most vulnerable when extreme weather hits, and in California, bullfrogs await their 15-minutes of fame.

Group Improves Legal Help for Survivors of Domestic Violence

play audio
Play

Friday, May 24, 2019   

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The path to normalcy for domestic-violence survivors is long and emotional – so the Family Law Self-Help Center at the Las Vegas family courthouse has found a way to speed things up.

Before, survivors had to apply for a domestic-violence protection order in one office – then go explain the situation again to staff in another office in order to file for divorce, custody or guardianship. Help center Directing Attorney Stephanie McDonald says the center has recently combined those services under one roof – so it's now a one-stop shop.

"Victims of domestic violence, they experience something very personal, very upsetting, very traumatic,” says McDonald. “This helps reduce their confusion and reduces the number of people in the courthouse that they have to interact with in order to get the kind of assistance that they're looking for."

The problem of domestic violence persists in Nevada. The Nevada Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence's 2017 report showed that victims contacted domestic violence programs more than 63,000 times that fiscal year, and those agencies prepared more than 10,000 temporary protection orders.

The protection-order program in Las Vegas alone sees 1,300 people a month, and the Family Law Self-Help Center overall sees 4,500 clients a month. McDonald says streamlining the process speeds up the timeline for victims and their children to get stabilized.

"So, by having people be able to talk to us now about the protection-order side of it and the long-term divorce and custody side of it,” says McDonald, “we can give them more information about options they're going to have to address the custody issues with the children who are being the subjects of abuse, or just merely in the presence of abuse, which can be just as damaging to them."

Victims can find a rundown of the entire process of domestic-violence temporary protection orders online at familylawselfhelpcenter.org.

Disclosure: Coalition of Legal Services Programs contributes to our fund for reporting on Budget Policy & Priorities, Disabilities, Health Issues, Social Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
More than 250 rare, threatened or endangered species live along the Appalachian Trail corridor. (Adobe Stock)

play sound

As the Appalachian Trail turns 100, conservation groups are sounding alarms over federal funding freezes and staff cuts. The trail runs through the …


Social Issues

play sound

During every big election, tens of thousands of California voters make a mistake on their mail-in ballot and often get differing advice on how to fix …

Social Issues

play sound

A new report on homelessness in Colorado released by the Common Sense Institute has come under fire for muddying the waters for lawmakers and other st…


Data is big business. By 2028, the data broker market is expected to reach a value of $407.5 billion. (Pongsak/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

A new tool aims to equip Oregonians with the knowledge they need to take control of their personal data and protect their privacy online. Oregon …

Health and Wellness

play sound

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and the latest state data show the number of Wisconsin youth who are struggling with their mental health has spik…

Americans consume more beef annually than any other country, at about 13.82 million tons per year. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

By Seth Millstein for Sentient.Broadcast version by Kathleen Shannon for Wyoming News Service reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service Collabora…

Social Issues

play sound

West Virginia coal miners filed a lawsuit asking a federal judge to temporarily halt the Trump administration's layoffs impacting the Coal Workers Hea…

Health and Wellness

play sound

A new report from the Commonwealth Fund showed between 8,000 and 12,000 Kentuckians could lose their jobs as a result of the state implementing Medica…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021