Each morning on the way to WKBW-TV, where she reported on consumer issues, Mary Travers

Murphy bought coffee at an Orchard Park convenience store where she befriended the woman

behind the counter, Aasiya Zubair Hassan.

Zubair Hassan, who with her husband, Muzzammil S. "Mo," was planning to launch Bridges TV,

America's first Muslim affairs network, usually made it a point to quiz Travers Murphy on the

ins and outs of broadcasting.

The daily chats ended after the women went on to new careers — Travers Murphy as

Orchard Park town supervisor and Zubair Hassan as the person colleagues considered the "heart

and soul" of Bridges TV, which went on the air in November 2004.

When Orchard Park police called one night five years later to tell Travers Murphy that

Zubair Hassan had been murdered by her husband, those conversations came rushing back.

The memory of Zubair Hassan, "a beautiful, sweet woman" who was working toward an MBA

degree when she died following years of marital abuse, weighed heavily in Travers Murphy's

decision — after leaving town government in January — to tackle domestic violence

head-on as executive director of the Family Justice Center.

She sees it as a chance to help "the thousands of abuse victims in Erie County who

desperately need these services" while honoring her friend's memory.

Her immediate priority is to raise the profile of a nonprofit organization that opened in

downtown Buffalo four years ago as "a one-stop shop" for victims of family violence but

remains little known outside the law enforcement, legal, medical and social work communities.

Located in the Main-Seneca Building downtown, the center offers confidential police, legal

and medical help as well as safety, child care and spiritual guidance, among other forms of

assistance.

In addition to four full-time staffers who register and interview people seeking help, the

center has offices staffed by 11 partner organizations, including the Buffalo Police

Department, Haven House, Crisis Services and the Erie County probation and social services

departments and district attorney's office.

There's no money in the roughly $900,000 budget for marketing, so in order to spread the

word during her first weeks on the job, Travers Murphy embarked on a speaking tour that took

her to more than a dozen venues.

"I was hired to get the Family Justice Center on everybody's radar screen. I can't stress

enough how eager I am to get in front of chambers of commerce, community groups, book clubs,

block clubs — whoever will listen," said the 51-year-old Orchard Park resident.

Travers Murphy, who succeeded Linda G. Ray, also wants to get "a foot in the door" of

hospitals, clinics and schools, which are often the first to see the results of domestic

abuse.

"Give me a call," she said. "I'll come with my PowerPoints and talk as long as you want."

Among those points: One in four women and one in nine men are victims of domestic violence

during their lifetimes, one in seven incidents are reported and victims typically endure

multiple assaults before seeking help.

The center already relies on volunteers to stretch the budget. Law students come in to help

clients with legal matters, and social workers are there to give advice on housing and

children's issues.

Such measures also can be viewed as cost controls, which is another of her aims. Like most

nonprofits, the organization receives money from government, foundation and private sources.

But Travers Murphy plans to wean the center off public assistance.

At the same time, she wants Family Justice to be more than just an urban service closed off

to suburban victims of domestic abuse.

She is working with Orchard Park clergy to establish the center's first satellite, expected

to open this summer.

Given the recent violent deaths of Zubair Hassan and Angela M. Moss, whose shooting death

in August near the nursing home where she worked has not been solved, Orchard Park is a good

starting point for outreach, Travers Murphy said.

"What happened to Aasiya really touched me," Travers Murphy said. "She's on my mind all the

time."