Daniela Bellows
Daniela Bellows holds the title of lead victim advocate, contracted by the state of Connecticut, to provide domestic violence services at the New Britain superior court. She is employed by the Prudence Crandall Center Inc., which is one of the 18-member domestic violence agencies for the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence (CCADV).
She graduated from Quinnipiac University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in social services and legal studies and is certified as a domestic violence counselor. In her position, she has been working with the same team of advocates for nearly 12 years. Daniela and her team stress wrap around services for clients and try to make the courthouse as trauma informed as possible. This is accomplished by small things such as generous team and community donations of snacks, coloring books for children, and gift cards for coffee for clients. These can provide a little comfort in a stressful situation.
After working for years as a criminal court victim advocate, she saw that each victim had the same story as to why they stayed; they were afraid of the family court system, of losing their children, their homes and financial security and their lives. In 2016, CCADV created positions for victim advocates for participate in assisted victims of domestic violence in the family court system, and Daniela created a program that provided advocacy, support and information for people going through divorce, custody and the restraining order process. For the first time, an arrest didn't need to be made for a client to be served by an advocate.
In November of 2024 Daniela was approached by CCADV to partner with UCONN Law School and local attorneys to create a law clinic to assist clients with the restraining order process. While other areas of the state had that kind of support for applicants, the New Britain area did not. By February of 2025, Daniela, with assistance from her clinic team, created a 2-hour training video and process for new law students, volunteer attorneys, and opened the clinic. This clinic will be celebrating its first anniversary this February.
