Sean Kirst: At Family Justice Center, gratitude and transition amid domestic violence calls of ‘extreme risk’

One factor involved simple gratitude toward a place – and a person – that gave her an entirely new trajectory. Thomas is director of operations at Buffalo’s Family Justice Center, which provides sanctuary and counsel for those who’ve endured domestic violence, and their families.

Thomas is a survivor, a soulful advocate for anyone facing the same kind of crisis that put her life at risk. She sees this column as a chance to thank the mentor who helped her reach that point.

Mary Travers Murphy, chief executive officer of the FJC, retired over the summer. Her friends say Travers Murphy, 65, had been moving toward that decision for several years – a choice given urgency with her husband, longtime Bills broadcaster John Murphy, recovering after he endured a stroke.

Thomas and many colleagues at the FJC, who’ve been looking for a way of expressing appreciation, embraced this solution:

As both a gift and a surprise, they’ll thank Travers Murphy here.

“She was the first person outside my circle who looked at me and saw who I was and really heard my voice,” Thomas said.

For Thomas, one imperative is always at the center of her work. As domestic violence awareness month nears its end, Thomas said, advocates at the FJC have noticed a spike in a particularly frightening behavior.

In 2021, when lockdowns, closures and economic fissures meant women, men and children facing abuse often felt cut off from escape, the FJC received more than 10,000 calls with accounts of domestic violence.

So far this year,…