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Author: Blog Author

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PO Court

What is Protective Order Court?

As the Protective Court Mobile Advocate for HCDVCC, I provide support to the 280th Court.  This Court is a specific civil district court in Harris County that oversees protective orders.   It is located within the Harris County Juvenile Justice Center, 1200 Congress, in downtown Houston on the 1st floor. The Honorable Damiane Dianne Curvey is the presiding judge. 

Protective orders are civil legal lawsuits that restrict proximity to a home, work, school and prohibit certain behaviors like abuse, harassment and/or stalking of a survivor.  If the order is violated, the person can be arrested. 

To get a protective order, a survivor/applicant must have experienced family violence.  Family violence can be classified as physical assault, sexual assault, threats (with the intent to cause harm), harassment, and/or stalking. 

These orders are often seen as valuable tools in helping to establish boundaries and safety when ending an abusive relationship, however, applying for one and going to court can be a very stressful process.

Thankfully, there are several wonderful agencies that can help someone get a protective order free of charge.  The Harris County District Attorney’s Office’s Domestic Violence Division Protective Orders – Harris County District Attorney – Office of the District Attorney as well as Aid to Victims of Abuse avda.org are two local agencies who survivors can contact to apply for an order.    

Once a protective order is filed, court is a necessary step for the order to be granted and finalized.  To counter the stress an applicant/survivor might feel while in court, I work with survivors/applicants by providing:

  • Emotional support prior, during and/or after testimony. Getting to court, waiting for your case to be heard and/or having to testify can be hard.  My job is to make sure survivors/applicants feel supported during this difficult time.
  • Detailed safety planning that is tailored to the needs of that individual applicant. This planning can include an analysis of areas of vulnerabilities in the home, at work, with children or in the community, education about additional protective tools that may enhance safety like SMART 911, VINE or security cameras, and a discussion of plans of action if someone violates the protective order.  My biggest goal with a survivor/applicant is to discuss ways she/he/they can effectively use their protective order to help them be safer as they take their steps to a healthier existence.
  • Providing applicants education of the protective order process and court proceedings and what to expect while they are waiting in court. This also includes helping survivors/applicants who are representing themselves in court by ensuring they have the appropriate copies and paperwork, or if they have an attorney, educating the survivor and attorney on possible safety apps for correspondence if children are involved.
  • Providing applicants with community resources such as Crime Victims Compensation, Address Confidentiality Program, AVDA for divorce and custody issues, as well as information on other domestic violence agencies and resources within their area that can provide additional emotional support and advocacy.

Taking the steps to getting a protective order can be hard if you are not familiar with the legal process, however, know there are agencies and people who are available along the way to help in providing education, guidance and support.  It is always important to remember you are not alone. 

For more information about the 280th Court and protective orders, please visit the Court’s website at Justex.

Fanesha Washington

HCDVCC’s Protective Order Court Adovcate

Categories
Black History Month Op-eds

Anti-Racism Policy

BIPOC Subcommittee Anti-Racism Policy

Racial Equity

The BIPOC subcommittee of the Domestic Violence Steering Committee of the greater Harris County area collaboration, supports the development of policy to combat racism and its effects. The subcommittee recognizes that the issue is a threat to the viability and health of staff, volunteers, and those we serve. Racism often manifests itself systemically, culturally, and interpersonally. The subcommittee is committed to engaging in actions that break down the walls of racial inequality. We strive for an environment where those we serve do not experience the barriers of racism. We further strive for all staff of partners within this collaborative to feel included, heard, and valued without the barriers of racism. Actions the subcommittee is proposing include but are not limited to:

1. Racial Equity Workgroup – The Racial Equity Workgroup is comprised of select subcommittee members from agencies across the Greater Houston Area. The purpose of the workgroup is to address the systemic, cultural, and interpersonal issues of racism, to make recommendations to the Steering Committee regarding partner agencies policy, and to establish best practice recommendations for the collaborative.

2. Host Partner Agency Conversations – The subcommittee is committed to offering strategic meetings where the partner agency teams are encouraged to share issues they are facing. The effort will include a cost sharing program where partner agency staff can anonymously report incidents of racism so this information is tracked and opportunities for accountability and change occurs.

3. Training – The subcommittee is seeking viable training for partner agencies’ staff as needed to include proposing a select microaggression video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQ9l7y4UuxY as part of the onboarding process of all partner agencies.

4. Evaluate Internal Practices – The subcommittee is committed to continually evaluating internal policies and procedures to ensure a consistent eye is on racial equality in all aspects of the collaborative.

The BIPOC subcommittee recommends that each member organization of HCDVCC include the following language in their DEI policies regarding equity vs equality:

While the terms equity and equality may sound similar, the implementation of one versus the other can lead to dramatically different outcomes for marginalized people.

Equality means each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities. Equity recognizes that each person has different circumstances and allocates the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome. Therefore, racial equity recognizes and acknowledges the oppression and subjugation of racial minorities and strives to achieve fairness depending on current status and need. Racial equity is intentional and provides the resources and opportunities needed for BIPOC staff so they can reach an equal outcome to their white counterparts.

In addition, ORGANIZATION NAME prioritizes racial equity for Black and Indigenous staff first due to their being the recipients of the most severe and ongoing oppression and thus discrimination and maltreatment.

“The route to achieving equity will not be accomplished through treating everyone equally. It will be achieved by treating everyone justly according to their circumstances.”
—Paula Dressel, Race Matters Institute 1

Categories
Children Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month

Respect Week- Healthy Relationships

There are so many suggestions and innuendos on what a healthy relationship is and what it is not. A lot of the examples that we see come from social media or reality TV, and if we are honest some of us are just navigating without a parachute. Sheesh and that’s from the adult view.

However, what about our teens?
You know the population who is influenced by the above genre the most.
In working with teens, we see that self-esteem and self-worth, or the lack thereof is a deadly formula that puts a mark on their back for heartbreak, misunderstanding, and sometimes abuse.

When you don’t love yourself you become an easy prey for toxicity. Examples of this are the young girl or boy who never received nurturing, love, or affection. This will be the teen looking for love in all the wrong places. The kid who accepts any affection because face it, it’s better than nothing at all.

Or the young person with the example of parents who argue as a means of effective communication.  9 out of 10 this will be the teen who is the aggressor when they begin a relationship.

The last one… the child where nothing they do is ever good enough.
This is the youngster who will accept belittlement, disrespect, and yes they are even prone to experience violence because they are in a low state.

As we enter into Respect Week these are some of the matters facing the youth served. We must intervene. In order to help or be a solution we have to point the child back to their individual self.

In group settings, this may start with questions or statements such as,

Do you like you?

Do you love you?

Give me one positive word that describes you.

 

This opens for discussion and allows us to encourage and teach youth to have a great level of love and respect for self. For many, this may be new as they have been in an unhealthy relationship with themselves, which has affected their relationships with others. Ouch!

The only way for us to have beneficial prevention is to point youth back to a healthy regard for self. If we create this as the foundation, then we give them a pretty good start on recognizing who or what is healthy for them.

It goes back to the core. One of the most important relationships one will ever have is the one with self. So, treat yourself with love and respect.
Treat yourself well, you deserve it!

About the Author

Stefanie Hayes
Expect Respect Facilitator
HCDVCC

Categories
Community Community Share DVAM

The Afro-American Police Officers League (AAPOL) Honored Houston Police Officer Adrian Rogers with the 2023 Harold L. Preston Patrol Officer of the Year Award!

The AAPOL recognizes exceptional achievement in any police endeavor including, but not limited to displays of extraordinary valor, crime prevention, investigative activity, community outreach, lifesaving, and innovative approaches to police service.  On October 28, 2023, at the AAPOL awards gala Houston Police Department’s Eastside Patrol Officer Adrian Rogers was named the recipient of the 2023 Harold L. Preston Patrol Officer of the Year Award.

In June of 2023, Officer Rogers was on routine patrol in Houston’s east end and observed a woman running and when he approached her, she turned around and he observed her crying, and in fear for her life.  Officer Rogers discovered that the woman had just been assaulted and shot at twice by her boyfriend attempted to blocked her from exiting the house when she escaped and ran for her life.  Officer Rogers was further advised that her boyfriend had a court hearing the next day for Aggravated Assault-Impeding Breath.  Officer Rogers was advised by the woman her boyfriend was in a vehicle backing out of the driveway Officer Rogers along with backup officers follow him to a convenience store.  Officers had the customers exit the convenience store and set up a perimeter when the male’s friends arrived on the scene threatening the complainant.  Officers observed the man pull out his gun and tragically died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.     

Officer Rogers stated, “This scene was a success because of the actions of the complainant (survivor) and the actions of Eastside Station patrol officers, tactical units, and supervisors. Sergeant Garza, Officer Morales and Officer Ramirez put their lives on the line when they walked into the store with the armed suspect. Sergeant Garza displayed active leadership and poise while giving commands while the suspect had a gun in his hand and Officers’ Morales and Ramirez showed their extraordinary experience and valor by communicating to each other in real time their tactical positions. Lieutenant Wilborn was there on the front lines assisting with scene management.  Eastside evening shift Officers’ Soto, Centeno, Hernandez, and Pellerin assisted with outside perimeter while certain individuals in the crowd were yelling epithets at the survivor.  Night shift officers assisted in taking the complainant back to the original scene while there were several suspicious vehicles circling the target area and there was a real sign of an active threat.  Night shift officers like Officer Brink who stayed with the complainant until she was able to be reunited with her grandmother until 4 am in the morning. Other nightshift officers like Kichamu, Martinez and Judge Jones assisted with scene management. Commander Coleman made the Canal Street scene and managed the media. This incident like many other incidents shows Eastside patrol station is a family that is here for its officers and its community and citizens.”

Officer Rogers recently reunited with the woman, and she indicated that if not for Officer Rogers she thinks that this could have been a domestic violence murder-suicide.  When the woman stated to Officer Rogers that he is her big hero, Officer Rogers stated that she is the hero, she is the person that escaped the situation.  Officer Rogers and all the officers who made this scene should be commended for their professionalism, teamwork, and safety techniques. 

Responding to domestic violence calls for service is one of the most volatile and dangerous situations for police officers.  They lead to about 14 percent of officer deaths every year according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Domestic violence constitutes anywhere from 15 to 50 percent of total calls received by police, according to the National Institute of Justice.  Officers are also hurt in domestic violence responses.  FBI data show of all officers who were assaulted in 2021, nearly 29 percent were responding to disturbance calls.      

Everyone involved in the domestic violence intervention is a hero.  The intervention is a partnership among law enforcement, victim advocates, community members and social service providers though which police and prosecutors clearly communicate to abusers that intimate partner violence is violence, and violence won’t be tolerated in our community.     Helping survivors and their families and the relentless pursuit to end domestic violence is our community mission.                

Watch the video below!

About the Author

Kira Webster, Lieutenant at the Houston Police Department

Major Assault & Family Violence Division

Categories
Community Community Share DVAM

The Houston Police Department gives a HUGE Shout-out of appreciation to all our partners with Houston Area Women’s Center

The Houston Police Department (HPD) is a proud and long-standing partner with the Houston Area Women’s Center (HAWC). HAWC is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing critical resources for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. Trained advocates are available on their 24-Hour Hotline to provide survivors with information and resources to assess their danger, make a safety plan, find shelter, and access services such as counseling and legal help.

Coordinated responses have been recognized as a best practice in reducing domestic violence since the Violence Against Women Act was enacted over 20 years ago. This is particularly effective in our community when close-knit relationships develop and highly engaged domestic violence partners come together for collaborative efforts. Over the years, current and newly assigned investigators and supervisors attended the tours at the HAWC. The HAWC tours are conducted as part of our investigative training requirement for investigators and supervisors as it is beneficial to us to be able to share resource information with the survivors. On the HAWC tours, investigators meet with HAWC professionals and get to know each other by asking questions and sharing information on how to enhance supporting survivors. When Hurricane Harvey and the pandemic hit the Houston and surrounding areas, our strong relationships and trust allowed us all to streamline efforts to support and protect survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. When face-to-face communication was not an option, we instantly continued communicating through Zoom meetings, electronic mail, and phone calls. We are excited to resume our in-person HAWC tours again for information-sharing regarding support and resources for survivors and their families. Recently, we had thirty new investigators and supervisors added to our Family Violence Unit and Adult Sex Crimes Unit who toured HAWC. Our investigators and supervisors are passionate about ending the epidemic of domestic violence and sexual assault. Each investigator and supervisor enhanced their individual knowledge regarding resources and how best to support the recovery after such a violent crime. A huge shout out to Deputy CEO Sonia Corrales and Thank You for always welcoming and guiding us through the HAWC and how survivors navigate the processes and take steps to recover from the violence. Also, we were joined by Director of Residential Services Pamela Ellis, Manager of Legal Service Jacklyn Guerra and Director of Violence Prevention and Training Michelle Sacks who are all hardworking dedicated professionals. We cannot express enough gratitude for all your continuous hard work that you put into everything you do for survivors! We are so grateful to have you as partners over the many years and thank you for all the hard work you are doing each day providing critical resources to the survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault!

About the Author

Kira Webster, Lieutenant at the Houston Police Department

Major Assault & Family Violence Division

Categories
DVAM Voices Of Freedom

Silencing The Shame and Living in Agape: Your Journey Towards Healing

As we step into October, a month dedicated to raising awareness about domestic violence, I want to address a crucial and often overlooked issue that affects countless lives. Why? Because I firmly believe that it’s time for us to collectively confront the pervasive yet often silenced impact of domestic violence.

Personal journeys through domestic violence can often feel profoundly isolating. I know this from my own experience. It was a lonely path until I discovered a community of support. Sadly, many of my loved ones, including church family members, didn’t know how to extend their support. That’s why I’m on a mission to give voice to this topic, recognizing that many women are affected by shame.

If you’ve made it to this paragraph, this topic must interest you. Let’s go deeper. Shame is a distorted identity we place on ourselves when we experience the perception of having done something dishonorable, immoral, or improper. Sometimes, we feel worthless, helpless, powerless, nameless, and hopeless. Seeing ourselves as “less” than is often connected to childhood trauma.

But here’s the profound truth: When we let go of our shame, we can feel more at peace, be happier with who we are, and experience true healing. When we embrace every facet of who we are, we tap into the transformative power of self-love.

Healing is closer than you think. You deserve to live in AGAPE. Healing can start today with:

  • Acceptance and Affirmations: Begin your healing journey by accepting that healing takes time and acknowledging your worth. Affirm yourself with positive self-talk, recognizing that you deserve love and support. Focus on the words “I am”! There is power in affirming your greatness.
  • Guidance from Professionals: Seek advice from trained therapists or counselors who can offer professional support, strategies, and confidential space to help you gain new tools to place in your tool kit for healing. The Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council can be a resource for you. This community helped me in my healing journey.
  • Advocacy for Yourself: Learn what your rights are. Trust me, when you go through the process of self-advocacy, you will, in turn, be a resource for someone else. Advocacy raises your overall level of self-awareness and consciousness.
  • Pursuing Knowledge: Expand your knowledge about domestic violence, its psychological effects, and the resources available for survivors. Learning more about domestic violence helped me understand what my shame was rooted in.
  • Establishing Healthy Boundaries: Recognize the importance of setting and enforcing healthy boundaries to protect your emotional, mental, and physical well-being. NO. is a complete sentence.

Remember, you are not alone, you can silence the shame. We are ready to support you on your path to living a life free from shame.

If you’d like to learn more information about the Silencing the Shame series, please email our Voices of Freedom Ambassador, Lereca Monik. You can also check our weekly newsletter for her series announcements or check her Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/lereca.monik

If you or someone you know is in danger, call the National Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE.

About the Author

Leraca Monik is one of HCDVCC’s Voice of Freedom Ambassadors.

Categories
Community Community Share Sexual Assault

Meet ColorMeSafe!

Who is Color me SAFE?

Color me SAFE is a family crisis management consulting firm serving mostly Texas and occasionally out-of-state clients. Our mission is to assist families of all backgrounds by offering guidance, solutions, and education regarding child welfare issues. Our team has over 50 years of combined experience, including several decades working for Child Protective Services. Since Color me SAFE was founded, in 2012, our team has been empowering, educating, and protecting your most valuable asset – your child.

Color me SAFE specializes in cases where CPS is directly involved: divorce & custody issues, coparenting conflict, parent/child conflict, and other matters involving child-welfare. We work directly with families, including refugees and immigrant families, therapists, schools, family law attorneys, and nonprofit organizations that serve survivors of domestic violence, and the community in general.

Often, families feel powerless and helpless in dealing with government institutions such as CPS – they need an advocate by their side to ensure their rights are protected and institutions are held accountable.

When families are referred to us, they are often traumatized, helpless, scared, lost, with the fear their children may be taken away, not knowing what to do or who to turn to. Unfortunately, through our experiences at CPS and beyond, it is precisely the families who are more vulnerable that are treated the worst, often being discriminated, revictimized, their civil rights abused by the institutions who were supposed to protect them. It’s those disparities, inequities, and inequalities that led us to create Color me SAFE and do what we do.

We’ve helped families with some of the most heart-breaking cases such as a family that had their three-month-old baby removed after going to the ER for an isolated incident that was completely misunderstood and overreacted. The parents were recent immigrants, their English wasn’t polished, and, in that stressful situation, they were not able to explain satisfactory what had happened. Unfortunately, they went on for months and spent thousands of dollars in attorney fees before their family was able to reunite.

In another case, we were able to guide a survivor of domestic violence, whose daughter was also being sexually abused by her own father. He was well connected and was using the law to his advantage. In this case, CPS initially misunderstood the dynamics of what was happening, and we were able to help make her case heard and, at the end, justice prevailed.

Over the years, we have come across numerous such families that needed our assistance and guidance but could not afford our services. We have taken more than forty pro-bono cases since we began this work and invested almost 1000 hours to support these families. Unfortunately, we were unable to support and guide several other families who needed us due to limited resources.

This is the ultimate reason we launched the Color me SAFE Foundation as a 501c3 at the end of 2022. We do not want any family to face a child or family related crisis without support, independently of their economic means. Besides working directly with families who do not have the resources, Color me SAFE Foundation will also be launching other education initiatives to empower our communities.

To us, it’s not about a paycheck or closing a case file, it’s when a family comes back months later saying, “thank you for keeping my family together.”

Our Team on the Ground:

Gauthami Vemula-Queijo, MS, MSE (Founder & Chief Empathy Officer)
Britany Myers, LCSW (Director of Education)
Karen Ricks, LCSW (Consultant & Director Home Assessments)
Saranya Kari, BS (Senior Intern)

To learn more about Color me SAFE, please visit the website and you can also follow ColorMeSafe on the following social media platforms.

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn

Categories
Crime Victims Op-eds

A Quick Overview of Protective Orders

As a court advocate in the 280th Protective Order Court, my job is to provide support, information, and resources to applicants (those seeking the protective order). At times, the applicants are represented by the District Attorney’s office, hired attorneys, or through an agency (such as AVDA, Lone Star Legal Aid, or other non-profits), or they represent themselves (Pro Se). Pro Se applicants often express their nerves and worries about representing themselves and not knowing how to fully do so. They express a lack of knowledge of the law or what happens in court in general.

Hearing this prompted me (along with the MSW interns working with me) to create a guide for Pro Se applicants, and a list of answers to frequently asked questions. These guides were created to give Pro Se applicants information about court proceedings, and what’s expected of them during the process. With approval from the courts, these guides are available to people when they come in to apply for a protective order. I genuinely believe that knowledge is power, especially when that knowledge is applied. My hope is that these guides will help those representing themselves to feel more prepared for their hearing.

I am not an attorney, and these guides are not legal advice for self-representation, rather information that is helpful to know when representing oneself.

Lastly, we have created a survey (link below) to get a better sense of what advocates know about Protective Orders and what they’d like to learn. This will help guide our Legal Services Committee to plan future trainings.

 

Link To Survey
280th FAQs
Pro Se App Guide to PO Court 280th

About the Author

Protective Order Court Advocate

Deborah Alexis, LCSW

Our Mission:
To improve Harris County’s response to domestic violence, we lead efforts to build collaborative systems and innovative programs that increase access to services and safety.
Our Vision:
We envision a community where all persons have relationships that are safe, healthy, and free from domestic violence.
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