Crisis Center looks to the future





Volunteers help sort clothing and other items at the Atascosa Family Crisis Center.

Volunteers help sort clothing and other items at the Atascosa Family Crisis Center.

The Atascosa Family Crisis Center staff and volunteers are on a mission to get the community on board and involved!

Donna Fisher, current Interim Executive Director, recently shared the center’s upcoming goals and fundraising events. She anticipates becoming the center’s Executive Director at the end of the grant year, August 31.

Other staff members are Cindy Rodriguez, Victim Advocate and Volunteer Coordinator; Melaney Smith, Senior Victim Advocate and Legal Advocate; Imelda Gomez, Victim Advocate and Presentation Specialist and Karen Collins, Victim Advocate and bookkeeper.

“The big push right now, especially for June is, to get involved. Our goal between now and August 31, is to get a core group of 25 volunteers that are constantly rotated on our calendar,” said Fisher.

The center’s goal for the end of the grant year is to have $200,000 in their general operating account, to take them forward.

“That would be a safety net in case we do not get the grant, we still have some operating costs,” said Fisher.

The center’s big goal is to get their own building.

“We are renting right now. It is a wonderful, huge place, but the layout is definitely a home. It makes it difficult to divide it up the way we need it. We would like to get our own place so that we can establish not only our offices, but our storage area, counseling areas. We have counselors that try to come in here. We set them up the best we can, but it might mean that someone has to vacate an office so that they have the privacy that they need.”

This would allow them to increase the amount of case management they are doing, as well as have a designated area for job searches and to sign up for services like Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Fisher added they would also like to establish transitional housing.

“We want to have two little apartments set up so when we do have situations where someone is needing shelter, more than just an overnight shelter, we have a place for them to go that is actually in our county. Right now, we have to take them to San Antonio, Seguin, Corpus Christi, even Kerrville. There is nothing around here that is an actual shelter for clients,” Fisher said.

“We want to get that established and in doing so, that would not only give them a safe place to go with their children and be able to relax and breathe and get their head together. It also affords an opportunity for additional life skills training. It may be something they have never had before. If they have always been in an abusive situation, they may not know what it looks like to try and support themselves and raise their kids alone… even open a bank account.”

One of Fisher’s own personal goals is to get Atascosa County to realize that the center belongs to them.

“We need some ownership from the county, from the citizens of all of the towns in this county, in realizing that this is your family crisis center and you should be proud of the fact that it exists and that we can give this information to anyone they know. You never know when it is going to be a family member or a friend or a co-worker that is going through something like this.”

AFCC still works very closely with law enforcement and the court system. The center also has memorandums of understanding with the health center and other counseling agencies.

Fisher also wants it to be known that AFCC exists.

“It is no longer a secret that this place exists and it should not be a secret. It needs to be known,” Fisher said.

While, yes, it can be scary knowing that an abuser might come knocking at your door, the center has taken precautions.

“We work a lot closer with the police departments and we are in touch with them. We have board members that are on the police department so they keep an eye on us. For safety factor, we have that.”

They have re-installed key pads, locks and alarms for the comfort level of not only the clients, but also the employees.

“I think there are a lot more victims out there than what we realize and what the county realizes. In fact, we have seen it. This last couple of weeks we have had more walk-ins than the whole year and a half prior that I worked here, because people know that we are here and we can offer those services. That is important and the staff has seen that as well. They realize that is part of the reason that folks were not coming around because they did not know they had a place to go,” explained Fisher.

FISHER’S START

Fisher began as a volunteer with the Bastrop County Women’s Shelter, where she worked as a volunteer with the hotline and Santa Bear program.

“Debbie Bresette was executive director at that time and she still remains, to this day, my hero. She is an amazing lady. She went on to work for United Way, when she left the shelter in Bastrop,” Fisher said.

Fisher also did a little bit of administrative assistance there, then she was hired as a case manager for their transitional housing. She taught life skills and eventually, she would love to have something like that in Atascosa County.

After 10 years there, she took a break, as such a career can cause one to burn out.

“It does take a special understanding of the dynamics of family violence. Women leave up to seven times, before they really leave a situation and that may not even be with the same man, but with the same type of situation, the same abusive situation. It is what they know, what they grew up with, it is what is familiar to them. That is why it is so hard for someone to walk away from a domestic violence situation. All of us stick with our life experiences and what is familiar and what we understand,” said Fisher.

Fisher moved to Corpus and ended up at the women’s shelter there, working as an advocate and at their residential shelter. It was a nice change of pace for her, allowing her to work in the shelter itself.

“Ladies would come in with their children and the clothes on their back in the middle of the night. They would be put in a room with two or three other ladies and their children. We helped them with the crisis portion of it. Once they could get past that, our goal was to help them move on, whether they get a place of their own, go back to school, etc.”

At that point, Fisher’s partner had to return to Atascosa County since her parents were getting older and they wanted to help care for them. They moved to Campbellton and for a short time, Fisher was driving back from Campbellton to Corpus. She got in touch with AFCC and let them know she was interested in working there.

She began as a bookkeeper with AFCC in 2012 and has been there since.

In February, she was appointed AFCC Interim Co- Executive Director along with Melaney Smith.

PRIZE DRAWING

To raise funds, the center is selling raffle tickets for only $1 each. The drawing will be June 27 and you do not have to be present to win. Contact any staff member or board member at 830-569-2001 to buy a ticket. There are 62 prizes total and some of the great prizes include: $50 gift card to H-E-B, yard decoration donated by Jourdanton Hardware ( a $73 value), a Brighton purse donated by Three Sisters Boutique (a $275 value) and many more! Fisher said they hope to raise $4,000 from the raffle.

The Texas Council on Family Violence is a great supporter of the center, stated Fisher. This Austinbased organization lobbies for AFCC and goes before the state.

AFCC receives calls from law enforcement agencies, friends and families of victims and victims themselves.

“There is a small crisis sheet that we have to fill out that lets us know, what is going on and what it is they are needing, to make sure it is eligible under one of the grants for that type of service. Then an intake is scheduled, they meet with an advocate and that advocate looks at what the immediate need is. Do we need to feed them? Do they need clothing? Do they need to stay at a hotel?”

Fisher added, “There are guidelines to follow, but a lot of it has to come from your own experience and judgement. The crew we have now is awesome at that. They do really well.”

Sometimes it is determined that Atascosa County is too close for a victim.

“Then we contact Seguin PD and meet them somewhere. In that situation, when it is the actual residential shelter, people should not know where it is at. Ours will be the same way when we get one.”

One area where they need more volunteers is to help with the 24-hour hotline.

With the oil boom, the center assists women who call saying they moved here with their spouse and need to go back home.

One thing that concerns Fisher is those who aren’t residents- transients coming through town.

“Those people do not have to register as sex offenders. That is a concern.

“Also, one of our best volunteers is an oil field person, who followed her husband and she volunteers to help us. So we have seen both sides of it.”

They also receive calls from the hospital and will sometimes meet victims if they just need to talk, as sometimes victims do not want to leave or they will refer them to counseling services which AFCC pays for.

You can contact AFCC at 830-569-6001.

TEXAS FAMILY VIOLENCE BY THE NUMBERS

In 2013 alone, 11,463 adults, mostly women and some men, sought shelter from violence and 13,519 children accompanied those adults. Shockingly, family violence centers had to turn away another 11,485 due to lack of space. Did you know that an estimated 5 million Texans have experienced family violence in their lifetime, according to a recent study?

UPCOMING

FUNDRAISERS

•Benefit Car Wash 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Pleasanton Athletic Center, June 14. Raffle tickets will be available there. Board members, staff and volunteers will be washing cars for a good cause. •“Unmasking Domestic Violence” Masquerade Ball at Coughran Hall in October. Silent auction, live music, in conjunction with Domestic Violence Awareness Month.


Atascosa Family Crisis Center staff includes, left to right: Cindy Rodriguez, Melaney Smith, Imelda Gomez and Donna Fisher.

Atascosa Family Crisis Center staff includes, left to right: Cindy Rodriguez, Melaney Smith, Imelda Gomez and Donna Fisher.

 

 

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