Mathews J&DR

Hope Cards for Protective Orders

Individuals who carry a protective order issued by the Mathews County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court now have access to a new resource. The Mathews County Hope Card Program is a new service made available to anyone with a valid final protective order that is effective for at least 12 months for family abuse, stalking, and/or sexual assault. The Hope Card Program allows individuals to request a wallet-sized card that summarizes the protective order's most important details. The Hope Card is intended as a more convenient way for people who have permanent protective orders keep relevant information about their orders with them at all times. It is small and durable and can be easily carried in a wallet or purse. Hope cards are also an easy way to allow law enforcement to know there is a valid protective order in place and assists in safety by informing law enforcement about weapons involved in the incident resulting in a protective order. You may request one card per individual named on the protective order to, for example, be provided to a child’s school and after-school care program. 

For more information on this program or to request a Hope Card Form you can visit the Gloucester, Mathews, and Middlesex Counties Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court Clerk’s office, call Deanna L. McKinnon at 804-693-4850, or contact the statewide Hope Card Program Coordinator, Jaime Clemmer, at jclemmer@vacourts.gov. 

The Hope Card Program is funded in part under V-STOP grant #18-04141VA17 awarded by the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services to the Office of the Executive Secretary, Supreme Court of Virginia, from funds authorized by the Violence Against Women Act and awarded to Virginia by the U.S. Department of Justice.