Sojourner Truth Peace Center—Championing the ‘Good Fight’ to Overcome Family Violence

By Kathy Gaillard

Carmen Pitre is a tireless crusader for justice who has devoted her entire career to rallying for, raising awareness of, and advocating for others.

“I was told by the previous director that I was a ‘lifer’. At the time I thought, no way! Twenty-two years later it is the honor of my life that ‘I get to do this work.’

“I work with incredible people. I am in awe of them and the survivors who are living in situations of hurt, but getting up every day, doing life, and feeding their families. There are so many people—primarily women—who are so strong. Where else would I get to do this work?” said Pitre.

Pitre is President & CEO of Sojourner Family Peace Center—a merger of Task Force on Family Violence and Sojourner Truth House. She also is regarded as one of the most prominent authorities and compassionate voices on family violence issues.  Her visionary leadership has enabled Milwaukee to become a national model for operating as a one-stop center where family violence is addressed in a holistic and effective manner.

The Sojourner Family Peace Center is a vision that Carmen had, shared, and engaged broad community support for, to make it become a reality.  Through strategic collaborations with Children’s Hospital, the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office, the Milwaukee Police Department and other community entities, the Sojourner Family Peace Center provides medical, legal, security, education, substance abuse, housing, and other social resources to stabilize and restore victims of violence to healthy and productive lives.

Like many other communities in our nation, there has been an uptick in domestic violence since the covid-19 pandemic.

“We noticed an increase in domestic-related homicides before covid, but the pandemic made everything worse. We are refocusing our planning to include strategies to prevent violence at the root cause. We are also working with kids who witness violence, and addressing food and housing insecurities in a different way. As part of our new strategic plan, we continue to do our high risk work and do a better job of reaching and helping those in need,” said Pitre.

Over the years Sojourner Truth’s services have evolved to better meet the needs of people. For example, in partnership with Froedtert Hospital, they are co-locating an advocate in an existing OB-GYN clinic and training staff to assess for domestic violence in the hopes that services and resources can be provided sooner. In addition, because there is sometimes a lack of trust of some systems, they are exploring the viability of neighborhood-based services, to better position resources where there is need.

Adequate shelter continues to be challenging for Sojourner Truth House. The organization currently houses a 53-bed shelter but has a long waiting list of people who need shelter.

“We are housing as many as we can, for as long as it takes to get them stable. We need longer term housing options so we are in discussions with  others to develop thoughtful, creative and strategic solutions,” said Pitre.

As Sojourner Truth approaches its 50^th Anniversary, Pitre is reflective about its beginning.

“We are the product of many people. Our founders named the organization Sojourner Truth House after the abolitionist Sojourner Truth who made history as an outspoken advocate for civil and women’s rights. She is our namesake because she exemplified freedom.

“Life is dynamic, healing is possible. We don’t get enough messages about that in this world. We are all part of the solution. We each have a role to play in making this a better world,” said Pitre.

Sojourner Truth is indeed a diamond determined to make life better and less bitter in our community.

For more information about Sojourner Truth, visit www.familypeacecenter.org.