County launches Bridge to Safety for victims of domestic violence

By Ken Lay

Knox County officially launched its Bridge to Safety program Tuesday afternoon at the City-County Building.

The program, which will aid victims of domestic violence in Knox County, will be funded by the office of Criminal Court Clerk Mike Hammond.

“Every 27 seconds, there’s an act of domestic violence, and since Jan. 1, we’ve had 600 people come in, make the trip down here to the City-County Building, and request an order of protection,” Hammond said. A lot of times, people come in here and they have suitcases and they’ve made the decision to leave and now, that’s a difficult decision. Many of them are women, and sometimes, they bring their children.

“Every Thursday, we have an order of protection court, and

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