For Immediate Release
One-site resource access, including mental health counseling, financial counseling, and legal assistance, to help victims of family violence
CONTACT: Francesca Hill, 210-607-9468 | fhill@family-service.org
SAN ANTONIO (November 18, 2020) – Family violence, the victimization of women and children by physical, emotional, and/or sexual abuse, is an escalating problem in San Antonio and Bexar County. Between 2013 and 2016, the number of family violence incidents rose by 18.5%, outpacing population growth by 219%. The number of people losing their lives to intimate partners more than tripled from 2012 to 2017 and doubled from 2015 to 2017.
COVID-19 has increased isolation and many challenges our families were already facing before the pandemic. Stress related to lack of transportation, lack of employment, as well as not knowing where to access resources are also affecting families.
Family Service KidShare has remained an available resource to families throughout the pandemic. The safe haven offers neutral exchange services and supervised visitations and provides a safe and supportive environment for families as they transition to a new normal. KidShare works with families facing all levels of conflict, family structures, and needs to ensure children have a safe place to interact with their parents.
Many families who are victims of family violence are in need of specialized, trauma-informed counseling, crisis intervention services, legal services, financial empowerment, case management, and support services. Referral to these services are high at KidShare, but the no-show rate is also high; largely due to fear of being found by the abuser, lack of transportation, and/or depression as well as the added difficulty that many of these resources are available at different, unfamiliar locations throughout the city.
Family Service KidShare is scaling their capacity to link children and families to high-need resources and services under one roof. Family Service is one of the Texas Bar Foundation’s 2021 grant recipients to bring services for families into one location. KidShare services will include:
- Building ongoing relationships between parents and children and strengthen the family’s ability to function in a healthy, productive way.
- A focus on children and youth and ensuring they receive the counseling and core relationship support they need. Many children witness or are victims of family violence, and nurturing relationships can prevent or reverse the damage of early life high stress and benefit long-term learning, behavior, and health.
- Administering an Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and Social Determinants of Health Survey to assess the individual needs of each family and family member.
- Creating a therapeutic action plan, service goals, and a safety plan for every family to help with stability and security in the family unit.
- Team members will receive training from Family Service Financial Empowerment on assessing and addressing financial hardships as well as assessing and applying for benefits and linkages to workforce development opportunities.
- Team members will receive training from Bexar County Family Justice Center on assessing and linking to needed services related to domestic violence.
Now court, CPS-mandated, and all families who visit KidShare will have a full continuum of care and a Safe Haven at a place that is comfortable and familiar to them. KidShare is open 12 hours a day, 6 days a week and through the Texas Bar Foundation Grant plans to help more than 1,200 families.
Over Family Service’s 117 year history, we have organically evolved to address the social determinants of health: conditions in peoples’ lives based on where they are born, raised, live, work, play, and age which affect health, quality of life, and life potential. This project helps restore the physical, emotional, and physiological functioning while improving the legal and financial statues of families who are victims of family violence.
“COVID-19 has exacerbated needs that already existed in our community. By focusing on helping to address family’s needs where they are today, while also thinking of their future, we are helping them create long-term success. The Texas Bar Foundation Grant and Safe Haven Project, helps us meet people where they are to empower them to transform their lives and creates multi-generational, long-term, sustainable change in our community,” Mary E. Garr, President and CEO, Family Service.
###
Since its inception in 1965, the Texas Bar Foundation has awarded more than $21 million in grants to law-related programs. Supported by members of the State Bar of Texas, the Texas Bar Foundation is the nation’s largest charitably-funded bar foundation.
Mission: The Texas Bar Foundation solicits charitable contributions and provides funding to enhance the rule of law and the system of justice in Texas, especially for programs that relate to legal assistance for the underserved, the administration of justice, ethics in the legal profession, the encouragement of legal research, publications and forums, and education of the third branch of government.
Family Service has been building strong families since 1903. As the oldest human service nonprofit in San Antonio, Family Service addresses the social determinants of health, those barriers and opportunities created by where people live, learn, work, play, and age. Helping individuals and families from birth to older adults, Family Service is dedicated to helping those in need. Visit www.family- service.org to learn more about the organization and the 117 years of service to local and area families.
Mission: empowering individuals and families to transform their lives. We do this by addressing the social determinants of health through a trauma-informed care lens.
