Interview with Executive Director Lori Warren on Family Justice Center

“Innovation” is often used as a buzzword. But at Crossroads, the organization is truly living this value.

I had the opportunity to talk with Executive Director Lori Warren about the innovative work happening at Crossroads – including the ambitious launch of the Family Justice Center in late 2025. I left the conversation feeling proud that Fort Collins, the little town in Northern Colorado where I grew up, is leading the nation in a cutting-edge approach to creating real change.

Lori Warren stepped into the role of Executive Director at Crossroads in March 2023. She brings with her over 12 years of experience in non-profit leadership, a passion for crisis work, and a natural talent for vision and strategy.

Discussing her career, Lori Warren shared, “Being able to help our community understand the needs of our neighbors — that really fills my cup! As an agency, I like to look at our broader community and say: What is it they are going to need from us, not just today, but in 5 or 10 years? And then go build that.”

THE FAMILY JUSTICE CENTER

The commitment at Crossroads to big ideas, helped inspire the Family Justice Center. This center will expand the representation of victimizations beyond Crossroads clients, allowing victims of child abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and trafficking to seamlessly access the services that they need from one place. For many victims, the option to leave feels unrealistic; the Family Justice Center can change that, empowering victims with the awareness, intervention and healing to end the cycle of abuse. And with a single-intake process, they only need to tell their story once.

The center is built on strong community partnerships, offering services across advocacy, law enforcement, criminal justice, housing, medical care, and counseling. Over 20 agencies will be co-located at the center, including the Fort Collins Police Services, Larimer Courts, Child Safe, Homeward Alliance, Sexual Assault Victim Advocates (SAVA), Food Bank, Key Bank financial services and more. There will even be a virtual court that allows victims to attend legal proceedings on-site from the security of the safe house!

TRENDS IN FORT COLLINS

A concerning trend has emerged in Ft. Collins: a dramatic increase in high-risk lethality cases. High-risk cases are cases with an increased likelihood of serious bodily injury or death – cases that risk domestic violence ending in homicide. They often involve attempted strangulation and use of firearms.

Before COVID, Crossroads typically had around 10 high-risk lethality cases each year — now they have over 240 (more than 20 high-risk cases each month). The increase is staggering.

As Lori describes, “With domestic violence, abuse often escalates over time without intervention. Even when there are brief moments of calm or reconciliation, they don’t represent real change, they are part of the ongoing cycle of abuse.”

These statistics forced Crossroads, and the Fort Collins community, to confront an unsettling question: What is going to happen if we don’t intervene?

The Family Justice Center can help address this. The model was established in the 1980’s in California and has proven highly effective in outcomes for survivors. Communities with Family Justice Centers see a 50% reduction in domestic violence fatalities and there are more than 200 Family Justice Centers across the United States. Although the Family Justice Center concept is not new, Crossroads is helping to lead innovation by co-locating the Larimer County Family Justice Center in the safe house.

“We facilitated a lot of conversations and research to land on not just what is best practice, but what is best for our community,” Lori explains. “In focus groups with survivors across victimizations, we repeatedly heard that they felt safest accessing services in the safe house due to the secure facility.”

Victims often face isolation when seeking support, which exacerbates their vulnerability. They may feel that they need to choose between safety and community. The Family Justice Center in the Crossroads safe house offers an alternative – advocating for community members to acknowledge, engage and take action to support survivors. It’s an example of how safety and healing can thrive with community, collaboration and connection.

HOW CAN YOU GET INVOLVED?

Community Awareness: Being a community member who knows about this, and speaks about this, makes a real difference! Thank you for your support.

Donations: The Family Justice Center is currently driving a capital campaign to complete the funding for the late 2025 launch. Donate here!

Partner Referrals: Partner organizations can learn about the services available at the Family Justice Center, and refer clients who can benefit from these resources. Reach out to Lori Warren if you would like more information on partnership involvement.