Arielle Fletcher was online preparing to study law, preparing for criminal court against the father of the baby she’s carrying.

“My boyfriend attacked me and it resulted in me becoming high risk,” she said.

Fletcher says that risk was the line her violent boyfriend crossed. She’s getting therapy and more at the Shani Baraka Women’s Resource Center.

“I love it. I’m here all the time,” she said. “They’re so helpful.”

Newark opened the center in May in the city’s south ward. An emotional Mayor Ras Baraka’s wiped away tears at the center named after his younger sister Shani, who was murdered along with her partner Rayshon Holmes by the estranged husband of Shani’s older sister.

“I was insistent on making sure this was helpful for women in our community,” he said.

Shani was a childhood friend of the center’s domestic violence liason Asia Smith. She was the one who suggested the center bear Shani’s name. She took NJTV News on a tour of the center.

“They’re doing a lot of intakes here,” she said. “A number of different folks here are coming in, getting adjustments, getting wellness checks. You know, it’s about mind, body and spirit here and so we want to make sure that we’re connecting folks with every aspect of healing.”

The center is a one-stop shop with a growing list of partners that includes the Newark Police Department. Plainclothes detectives are housed here to take complaints from victims and survivors. Smith is a survivor herself, trained in assessing how potentially lethal a relationship has become. She shares results with clients.

“Its not to make an individual paranoid, but I like to really give a person all the tools to make informed decisons. That really can let you know, OK, yes you feel a certain way about this person, but the fact is their behaviors are exhibiting some very dangerous signs of abuse,” said Smith.

Newark police say of the 93 homicides in the city last year, 10 percent were related to domestic violence.

“The data captures some horrific numbers, but we also have to look at what the data does not capture,” Smith said.

The abuse that goes unreported. One such case is Jasmine Torto’s, who was at the center to touch up her resume in a job search.

“When I was younger, in my teens, this would have been a great place for empowerment and to help me when I was going through my situations. This would have been really good if it was here,” said Torto.

“We’ve had hundreds, and I mean hundreds, of visits that have come in. We’ve had people just come in off the street, not even realizing that they were in dire need of particular services. They knew that they needed something, but they weren’t able to articulate those needs,” said Smith.

Smith hopes this center brings domestic violence out of the shadows, lifts the stigma and leads to prevention, protection and ultimately preserving lives.