Domestic Violence Awareness Stakeholders Meeting to be held October 21, 2015 in Eagle Pass, TX
By: Jose G. Landa, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2015
October 2015 is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, according to a Presidential Proclamation signed on September 30, 2015 by President Barack Obama. Eagle Pass and Maverick County, Texas have a large incidence of domestic violence cases, according to both the Eagle Pass Police Department and Maverick County Sheriff’s Offices. The Quad Counties Council’s New Horizons Outreach Program has scheduled a community-wide stakeholder meeting on Domestic Violence Awareness in Eagle Pass and Maverick County on Wednesday, October 21, 2015, at 10 A.M. through 1 P.M. at the BBVA Compass Bank, located at 2320 East Main Street, in Eagle Pass, Texas.
During September 2014 through September 2015, the Eagle Pass Police Department reported a total of 460 domestic/family violence incidents its officers had to respond to and/or investigate. Meanwhile, the Maverick County Sheriff’s Department reported 148 domestic violence incidents during January 2014 through September 2015. Combined that is a total of 608 family/domestic violence incidents reported in the community of Maverick County, Texas.
A series of Eagle Pass Business Journal investigative articles concerning the serious problem Maverick County domestic violence victims and their family members face receiving legal and prosecutorial assistance, psychological counseling, temporary housing assistance, job placement, legal protective orders, healthcare assistance, and other assistance has raised the importance of Domestic Violence Awareness in the community as well as the deficienies found in the community.
The Eagle Pass Business Journal’s investigation found that the most important deficiency in Maverick County for domestic violence victims and their family members is the lack of a County-wide coordinated and strategic effort and plan of action between all the legal, judicial, social, healthcare, psychological, educational, housing, and support agencies, organizations, and entities who address and protect Domestic Violence victims and their loved ones. Its like the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing.
Consequently, many Domestic Violence perpetrators go unpunished, unprosecuted, and allowed to return to their homes only to commit the same offenses against their intimate partners again, sometimes resulting in murder, while the vicitms and their children do not receive the full support and assistance from the community’s organizations and entities to deal with, rehabilitate, cope, handle, survive, and heal their permanent physical injuries, psychological injuries, healthcare injuries, loss of housing, loss of financial support, loss of employment, loss of educational opportunities, and distrust of the law enforcement, legal, and judicial systems which are supposed to serve and protect them.
The Eagle Pass Business Journal’s investigation also found that Maverick County’s attitude toward Domestic Violence is lackadaisical and inadequate. It is not a community priority nor is there a commitment to establish and support a cultural and institutional change to develop and coordinate a total community-wide strategy and plan to assist vicitms of domesitc violence and their children and to create a community awareness that domestic violence is wrong, against the law, and permanently scars the victims and their children. A community-wide coordinated strategy and mechanism is needed to support domestic violence victims and their children and to implement all the legal and judicial laws and remedies available against those individuals who commit domestic violence regardless of their social standing. If you do the crime, you will do the time.
There is not a more opportune time to meet, discuss, develop, coordinate, and implement a community-wide strategic plan and system to address domestic violence awareness than this month of October 2015 which is designated as the Official National Domestic Violence Awareness Month .
All Eagle Pass and Maverick County agencies, organizations, entities, and citizens who deal with domestic violence issues and/or vicitms and their families or who genuinely care about making a difference in the community concerning this serious problem of dometstic violence are encouraged to attend and participate in the Quad Counties Council’s New Horizons Outreach Program Domestic Violence Awareness Stakeholders Meeting on Wednesday, October 21, 2015, at 10 A.M.-1 P.M. at BBVA Compass Bank, located at 2310 East Main Street, Eagle Pass, Texas.
To RSVP, please call Perla Vela at (830) 352-2537 or by email at: perlav.newhorizons@outlook.com.
