Domestic Violence Help in Utah County: 24-Hour Lines, Shelter

Living November 13, 2026 12 min read ✓ Updated November 13, 2026

Provo.com News Desk Newsroom, Provo.com How we make Provo.com

If you are in danger right now, call 911.

If you are reading this on a phone or computer that someone else can check, The Refuge Utah's website has an "Escape Site" button, and the National Domestic Violence Hotline warns that internet use can be monitored and is impossible to erase completely. Calling may be safer than browsing.

This guide is for anyone in Provo, Orem or the rest of Utah County who is being hurt, threatened or controlled by a partner or family member, and for friends and relatives trying to help. It lists the local and statewide lines, explains the free legal help on Tuesday nights in Provo, walks through how a Utah protective order works, and covers the lease and immigration questions that keep people from leaving. It draws on The Refuge Utah, the Utah County Children's Justice Center's Family Justice Center page, the Utah State Courts, the Utah Code, USCIS and the National Domestic Violence Hotline, checked November 13, 2026.

The numbers to keep

Who	Number	When
Emergency	911	Any time you are in danger
The Refuge Utah, domestic violence helpline	801-377-5500	24 hours
The Refuge Utah, sexual assault helpline	801-356-2511	24 hours
Spanish sexual assault helpline (UCASA)	801-924-0860	24 hours
Utah Domestic Violence Coalition line	800-897-5465	Statewide
National Domestic Violence Hotline	1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788	24 hours, free, confidential
Utah Child Protective Services hotline	1-855-323-3237	24 hours
Utah County Family Justice Center	Walk in, Tuesdays 5 to 8 p.m.	Free legal advice

What counts as domestic violence

The Refuge Utah defines domestic violence as "a pattern of behavior in relationships of all kinds that is used to gain or maintain power and control over another person." It is not only hitting. The Refuge lists financial abuse, isolation, sexual abuse, emotional abuse and physical violence, and it notes that domestic violence happens across every race, age, orientation, religion, gender, income and education level.

If a partner controls the money, reads your messages, keeps you from friends or family, threatens you or the children, or makes you afraid of what happens when you disagree, that is the pattern advocates are trained to help with. You do not need a bruise to call.

The Refuge Utah: the 24-hour line and the shelter

The Refuge Utah, the Orem nonprofit long known as the Center for Women and Children in Crisis, provides domestic violence and sexual assault services across Utah County. Its administrative office is at 1433 East 840 North in Orem (801-227-5038), but the number that matters is the 24-hour helpline, 801-377-5500.

A call connects you with a trained advocate who can provide confidential support, crisis intervention, safety planning and shelter referrals. The Refuge lists these domestic violence services:

24/7 crisis helpline and safety planning
Advocacy and case management
Counseling and support groups
Emergency shelter and housing assistance
Basic needs assistance
Children's services

The emergency shelter

The Refuge's answers about its shelter:

Who can stay: anyone experiencing domestic violence, sexual assault or abuse who needs a safe place. All genders, ages and family types are welcome.
How long: the target stay is 30 days. Some survivors stay a few days, others a few weeks, and some longer. Advocates help build a plan toward stable housing.
What to bring: if you can, identification, medications and essentials for you and your children. The Refuge says not to worry if you cannot, because safety comes first, and it provides food, clothing and daily essentials.
Getting there: if transportation is a problem, call. The Refuge says it will work with you to find a safe option.
The location is confidential to protect everyone staying there.
After the shelter: aftercare services for up to one year.

The lethality assessment

If police or an advocate ask you a short list of questions about threats, weapons and escalating abuse, that is a lethality assessment. The Refuge describes it as a brief, confidential screening to identify warning signs that someone may be at high risk of serious harm or death, used to support safety planning and connect people to help "without judgment or pressure." Answer as truthfully as you can; the questions exist because certain patterns, like access to a gun or recent escalation, raise the danger sharply.

The Family Justice Center: free help on Tuesday nights

Utah County's Family Justice Center, run through the county's Children's Justice Center, supports victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and elder abuse in one place on one night a week.

When: Tuesday evenings. Clients are accepted from 5 to 8 p.m., first come, first served, unless the clinic reaches capacity earlier.

Where: Utah County Health and Justice Building, 151 South University Avenue, Room 1601, Provo.

What is there:

A free clinic with legal advice on family, elder and tenant law. Volunteer attorneys advise; they do not represent clients, but low-cost referrals are available.
Immigrant legal services on the first, second and third Tuesdays of the month.
Weekly: law enforcement victim advocates, community advocates, the Utah Housing Authority and the Provo Housing Authority.
First Tuesdays also: the Division of Child and Family Services, Wasatch Mental Health (now Wasatch Behavioral Health) and help with medical insurance.

Income rules: the family and tenant law attorneys can help people at or below 200 percent of the poverty guideline. There is no income guideline for the community services or immigration help, proof of income is not required, and the center notes that income limits may not apply if your case directly involves a crime.

Holiday closures: the center lists closures on November 24, December 22 and December 29, 2026.

The wait varies with how many volunteer attorneys come that night. Bring something to read, and bring any papers related to your case. The center says it cannot print documents for you.

How a Utah protective order works

A protective order is what many people call a restraining order. The Utah State Courts explain the process for cohabitant, dating violence and sexual violence protective orders.

What an order can do. If the court finds the respondent threatened or tried to harm you, the order can:

Prevent the respondent from contacting or communicating with you and others it names
Stop the respondent from threatening violence
Make the respondent stay away from your home, work, school or place of worship
Bar the respondent from having guns or weapons
Temporarily give you custody of shared children

If the respondent violates the order, they can be arrested and charged with a crime.

Step 1: File. You fill out a Request for Protective Order, a Notice of Hearing and a Service Assistance Form. The courts' free MyPaperwork tool prepares them. There is no filing fee or cost for the forms. File in the district court of the county where you or the respondent lives, or where the events happened, under Utah Code 78B-7-104. In Utah County that is the Fourth District Court. You can file electronically through MyCourtCase, in person, by email or by mail.

Step 2: Same-day review. A judge usually reviews the request the same day. If granted, the judge signs a temporary ex parte protective order and schedules a hearing within 21 days. A sheriff or constable serves the respondent, and the order takes effect once it is served. If the judge denies the temporary order, you have five days to file a Request for Hearing.

Step 3: The hearing. Both sides can present evidence and witnesses. In Judicial Districts 1 through 4, which includes Utah County, commissioners generally hear protective order cases. For a cohabitant order, the court must find you have a current reasonable fear of future harm, abuse or domestic violence, or that the respondent violated the order or committed a qualifying offense. If you do not attend, the temporary order is dismissed. If the respondent does not attend, the court may grant the order without them. The courts describe the result as a three-year protective order.

Get help with the paperwork. Advocates at The Refuge and the Family Justice Center help people through this regularly, and our guide to free legal help in Utah County lists the other free and low-cost options. Utah's courts also provide interpreters.

Breaking a lease to get safe

Utah gives tenants few ways to end a lease early, but domestic violence is one of them. Under Utah Code 57-22-5.1, a renter who is a victim of domestic violence may end all future obligations under a lease if the renter:

Is in compliance with the lease, with a narrow exception for problems caused by the abuse within the prior 30 days;
Gives the landlord a court protective order protecting the renter, or a police report showing the renter is a victim of domestic violence and not the predominant aggressor;
Gives the landlord written notice with the move-out date; and
Pays a termination fee equal to one month's rent.

You then must move out within 15 days of the notice and pay rent for those days. The right is not available after an eviction notice has been served, so act early. Ending your obligations does not end the lease for anyone else on it.

New locks. The same statute lets a crime victim, including a domestic violence victim, require the landlord to install a new lock, at the renter's cost, after providing a protective order issued after a hearing or a police report. The landlord must refuse to give a key to the perpetrator.

Calling for help cannot cost you your home. A landlord may not restrict your ability to call police, fire or medical services, or penalize or evict you for reasonable requests for help.

The version of this law quoted here is in effect through December 31, 2026; the Legislature has a revised version taking effect January 1, 2027, so confirm the details with an advocate or attorney. Our guide to breaking a lease in Utah covers the rest of the rules.

If you are an immigrant

Fear of immigration consequences keeps many people in dangerous homes. Some facts that matter:

The Refuge's shelter is open to anyone experiencing abuse who needs a safe place.
The Family Justice Center's immigration help has no income guideline, and immigrant legal services are there on the first three Tuesdays of each month.
The U visa. USCIS says U nonimmigrant status is set aside for victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and are helpful to law enforcement or government officials in investigating or prosecuting the crime.
The VAWA self-petition. USCIS says the Violence Against Women Act lets people abused by a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse, parent or (for parents) adult U.S. citizen child petition for themselves, without the abuser's involvement.

Both are complex, and the wrong filing can cause harm. Talk with an immigration attorney or accredited representative before filing anything. Our Spanish guide to free legal help lists low-cost immigration options in Utah County.

Helping a friend or family member

The Refuge's advice for people watching someone they love in an abusive relationship:

Express concern for their safety and help them recognize the abuse.
Listen without judgment and believe what they tell you.
Reassure them the abuse is not their fault and they are not alone.
Help them create a safety plan when possible.
Encourage connection to trusted people and domestic violence services.
Offer to go with them if they seek help.
Respect their decisions and keep supporting them, even if they are not ready to leave.

That last point is the hardest. Staying in contact keeps a door open, and an advocate can help you think through what to say.

If children are involved

If you suspect a child is being abused or neglected, call Utah's Child Protective Services hotline at 1-855-323-3237, which runs 24 hours, or contact local police. A protective order can include children, and Utah also has a separate child protective order for a child in danger of physical or sexual abuse. The Utah County Children's Justice Center, at 315 South 100 East in Provo and 96 South 100 East in American Fork, handles interviews and support when abuse of a child is being investigated (801-851-8554, weekdays).

A safety plan, in brief

An advocate at 801-377-5500 can build a plan around your situation. The Refuge describes a safety plan as identifying safe people and places for you and your children. Common pieces:

A packed bag kept somewhere safe or with a trusted person: ID, birth certificates, Social Security cards, medications, keys, some cash and copies of any court orders.
A code word with a friend or neighbor that means "call 911."
Knowing which exits in your home you can reach, and avoiding rooms with weapons or only one way out during an argument.
Saving the helpline number under a name that will not draw attention.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the domestic violence hotline for Utah County?

The Refuge Utah, the Orem-based nonprofit formerly known as the Center for Women and Children in Crisis, runs a 24-hour domestic violence helpline at 801-377-5500. Its 24-hour sexual assault helpline is 801-356-2511. Statewide, the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition's line is 800-897-5465, and the National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788. In danger right now, call 911.

Is there a domestic violence shelter in Utah County?

Yes. The Refuge Utah runs an emergency shelter whose location is kept confidential. It says the shelter is open to anyone experiencing domestic violence, sexual assault or abuse who needs a safe place, of all genders, ages and family types. The target stay is 30 days, and it offers aftercare for up to a year. Call 801-377-5500; it will help with transportation if getting there is hard.

How much does a protective order cost in Utah?

Nothing. Utah's courts say there is no filing fee or cost for the court forms to ask for a protective order. You can prepare the papers with the courts' free MyPaperwork tool and file in the district court of the county where you or the respondent lives or where the abuse happened.

How fast can I get a protective order?

A judge usually reviews a request the same day it is filed. If granted, the judge signs a temporary ex parte protective order and schedules a hearing within 21 days. The order takes effect once it is served on the respondent. At the hearing, the court decides whether to enter a longer order; the courts describe it as a three-year protective order.

Where can I get free legal advice about domestic violence in Provo?

The Utah County Family Justice Center holds a free clinic on Tuesday evenings, accepting clients from 5 to 8 p.m. in Room 1601 of the Utah County Health and Justice Building, 151 South University Avenue in Provo. Volunteer attorneys advise on family, elder and tenant law, and immigrant legal services are available on the first, second and third Tuesdays.

Can I break my lease because of domestic violence in Utah?

Yes, under Utah Code 57-22-5.1, if you are current on your lease, give your landlord a court protective order or a police report showing you are a victim and not the predominant aggressor, give written notice with your move-out date, and pay a termination fee equal to one month's rent. You must move out within 15 days of the notice and cannot use this right after an eviction notice has been served.

Can an immigrant without papers get help for domestic violence?

Yes. The Refuge's shelter is open to anyone experiencing abuse, and the Family Justice Center says its immigration help has no income guideline. Federal law also offers specific protections: USCIS describes the U visa for victims of certain crimes who are helpful to law enforcement, and the VAWA self-petition for people abused by a U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse, parent or adult child. An immigration attorney or accredited representative should advise on either.

How do I report child abuse in Utah?

Call Utah's Child Protective Services 24-hour hotline at 1-855-323-3237, or contact local law enforcement. The Refuge Utah points callers to that hotline for suspected child abuse or neglect.

Sources

The facts in this guide were checked against these sources. Hours, fees and rules change, so confirm anything time-sensitive with the source before you go. How we make Provo.com.

Family Justice Center, Utah County Children's Justice Center. Checked November 13, 2026.
Protective Orders, Utah State Courts. Checked November 13, 2026.
Utah Code 57-22-5.1, Crime victim's right to new locks; domestic violence victim's right to terminate rental agreement, Utah Legislature. Checked November 13, 2026.
Victims of Criminal Activity: U Nonimmigrant Status, USCIS. Checked November 13, 2026.
Abused Spouses, Children and Parents (VAWA), USCIS. Checked November 13, 2026.
Get Help: 24-hour helplines, The Refuge Utah. Checked November 13, 2026.
Domestic Violence Support, The Refuge Utah. Checked November 13, 2026.
Emergency Shelter, The Refuge Utah. Checked November 13, 2026.
National Domestic Violence Hotline, The Hotline. Checked November 13, 2026.

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