We Are Here for You. Get the Confidential Support You Deserve.
At NYC Health + Hospitals, we recognize domestic violence as a public health issue. Our doctors, nurses, psychologists, psychiatrists, domestic violence coordinators and sexual assault response team members are here to help.
Services and Resources through NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals Domestic and Gender-Based Violence Mental Health Program at the NYC Family Justice Centers (FJCs) was created to provide specialized care and support to survivors of domestic and gender-based violence, which can include intimate partner violence (IPV), sex and human trafficking, stalking, or elder abuse. Our team of psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers will help you reduce your mental health symptoms and support your healing journey. If you have experienced domestic or gender-based violence and would like mental health support, call or walk-in to a NYC Family Justice Center (FJC).
What are the NYC Family Justice Centers?
The NYC Family Justice Centers (FJCs) are locations where survivors of domestic and gender-based violence can be connected to social, legal, and mental health services and resources, including the NYC Health + Hospitals Mental Health Team. There is a FJC in each borough of New York City and all centers are open both for in-person and remote services, Monday through Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. No appointment is needed to start. Interpretation services are available in 240+ languages.
All services at the FJCs are free, confidential, and available to people of any:
age | immigration status | sexual orientation | income | language spoken | gender identity | disability
Click here to learn more about the FJCs, including specific services.
NYC Family Justice Center Locations & Contact Information
All FJCs are wheelchair accessible. Please call ahead to request other accommodations.
Bronx
198 East 161st Street, Bronx, NY 10451
(718) 508-1220
Brooklyn
350 Jay Street, 15th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201
(718) 250-5113
Manhattan
80 Centre Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10013
(212) 602-2800
Queens
126-02 82nd Avenue, Kew Gardens, NY 11415
(718) 575-4545
Staten Island
126 Stuyvesant Place, Staten Island, NY 10301
(718) 697-4300
How Domestic and Gender-Based Violence Affects Your Mind and Body
The impact of domestic and gender-based violence affects survivors differently. A range of physical and mental health symptoms may be experienced. Common symptoms include:
- Feeling tired. Feeling stressed out. Low motivation. Low self-esteem.
- Pain in the chest. Stomach pains. Pelvic pain. Choking sensations.
- Feeling anxious. Worrying a lot. Feeling paranoid. Zoning out.
- Difficulty sleeping. Not wanting to be alive.
These symptoms can be confusing, overwhelming, and exhausting. They may be connected to mental health concerns, such as major depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). There could also be a struggle with drug and alcohol use in order to cope.
If you are experiencing any of the above symptoms related to a past or current experience of domestic and gender-based violence, you can reach out to a NYC Family Justice Center for mental health services, including the NYC Health + Hospitals Family Justice Center Mental Health Program.
Power and Control in Domestic and Gender-Based Violence
Below are some examples of actions and behaviors that you or someone you know may experience if in an abusive relationship.
Coercion and threats: Threatening to hurt or leave you. Making you drop legal charges. Threatening to report you to child welfare (i.e. ACS).
Intimidation: Making you feel afraid. Breaking things. Abusing pets.
Emotional abuse: Calling you names. Playing mind games. Making you feel guilty.
Using isolation: Controlling what you do. Controlling who you see and talk to. Controlling where you go.
Denying and blaming: Not taking your concerns about abuse seriously. Saying it didn’t happen. Saying you caused the abuse by pushing back, not doing enough for them, or other reasons.
Using children: Making you feel guilty about the children. Using the children to relay messages. Threatening to take the children away.
Exploiting gender: Treating you like a servant. Making all the big decisions. Acting like the master or queen of the castle. Saying no one will believe you are being abused because of your gender. For people in same gender-relationships, the person harming you may exploit gender norms and stereotypes (e.g. who presents as more masculine or feminine) to try and discredit you to others.
Financial abuse: Preventing you from getting or keeping a job. Making you ask for money. Taking your money.
In addition to the NYC Health + Hospital Family Justice Center Mental Health Program, Health + Hospitals has Community and Hospital-Based Services
Community and Hospital-Based Services
Domestic Violence Coordinators
Specially trained domestic violence coordinators are on staff throughout the health care system to work with patients who are survivors of domestic and gender-based violence. Patients are referred to the coordinators by a member of their health care team. The coordinators provide screening, referrals, documentation of injuries, photographs of injuries if the patient wants that service and help in developing a safety plan. Once the patient leaves the hospital or doctor’s office, the coordinator follow-ups within a week to offer additional help if needed.
Services in the Emergency Department
Many survivors of domestic and gender-based violence enter the health care system through the emergency department. When a patient discloses that they are a survivor, their service provision is expedited, and they are immediately brought to a safe space in the hospital, separate from the waiting room. The survivor receives medical treatment, an assessment by a social worker, help with filling-out a police report if they want to, and assistance with safety planning.
Sexual Assault Response Teams
If a sexual assault occurs during an act of domestic or gender-based violence, patients are seen by specially trained teams of experts, including forensic examiners and rape crisis counselors. The forensic examiners properly identify, collect and store forensic evidence, and document injuries. Rape crisis counselors are specially trained to help survivors through the emotional trauma of a sexual assault.
Domestic Violence Shelter Mental Health Initiative
Families residing in the city’s domestic violence shelters have access to high quality mental health care. Survivors and their children can receive individual and group therapy, and medication management from a team of social workers and psychiatrists. All services are available on site at domestic violence shelters and are free to patients, trauma-informed, and culturally sensitive. The initiative is a collaboration between NYC Health + Hospitals, NYC Human Resources Administration/Department of Social Services, the Mayor’s Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence and the Office of Community Mental Health.
The EMPOWER Center offers a comprehensive multi-service program for people with any experience in the commercial sex trade and/or sex trafficking. Through free, high-quality, and trauma-informed medical, clinical, legal, and case management services, the EMPOWER Center helps people in the sex trade lead healthy and independent lives. This program is a collaboration between NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull and Jacobi hospitals, and Sanctuary for Families.
The Kings CARES Practice
The Kings CARES Practice aims to deliver the highest quality care to survivors of abuse and trauma by providing a full spectrum of medical, psychosocial, and forensic care for this vulnerable population. This medical and forensic practice serves as a centralized location, providing trauma-informed care while also connecting survivors with multidisciplinary teams, such as the Family Justice Centers and the Offices of the District Attorneys across all five boroughs in New York City. The practice includes forensically trained medical providers at NYC Health + Hospitals/ Kings County hospital, who extend their expertise beyond the emergency department. Through close collaboration with nurses, social workers, care managers, medical specialists, and city agencies, they work as a unified team to offer holistic, patient-centered support.
Citywide Resources
If you are in immediate danger, call 911.
If you can’t talk, text 911.
Learn more: nyc.gov/text911
If you are concerned about your mental health or the mental health of others, call 1-800-NYC-WELL
To get connected to immediate safety planning, shelter assistance, and other support and resources—24 hours, 7 days a week: Call NYC’s 24-Hour HOPE Hotline at: 1-800-621-4673 or TTY: 866-604-5350
Find more resources and support, by visiting the City’s NYC HOPE Resource Directory at www.nyc.gov/NYCHOPE.