SAN ANTONIO – Did you know that 1/3 of women will be affected by domestic violence in Bexar County?
Since October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, KSAT Community is highlighting local nonprofit Family Violence Prevention Services Inc. (FVPS), The Battered Women and Children’s Shelter to spread light on resources that are available for women and children.
The nonprofit stated that 61% of households come to Family Violence Prevention Services, Inc., The Battered Women and Children’s Shelter with zero income.
The mission of Family Violence Prevention Services, Inc. is to break the cycle of violence and to strengthen families by providing the necessary tools for self-sufficiency through delivery of emergency shelter, effective therapy, parenting education, housing and specialized intervention with children, youth, the elderly, including services for those who perpetrate the abuse.
In 2020, 228 Texans were killed by intimate partners, a 23% increase in homicides in the state over 2019, according to the Texas Council on Family Violence.
“FVPS has been in the San Antonio community for 44 years,” said Blanca Uribe, Director of External Affairs & Volunteer Relations for FVPS. “If it were not due to the generous donors we could not do our work. We gratefully accept monetary donations for our emergency shelter, which houses over 175 adults and children, and our vital programs for the women, men and children. Non-Monetary donations of gently used items are always welcome.”
In any given year The Battered Women and Children’s Shelter houses more than 1,000 family violence victims.
Roughly half of these residents are children. The majority of these child residents will be younger than 10 years old.
Here’s what your donation can help others at FVPS:
- $25 The Gift of Play - Provides a toy and a book for a child at the shelter.
- $50 The Gift of Hope - Provides warms blankets, linens and towels to families living at the shelter.
- $100 The Gift of New Beginnings - Provides new clothes and shoes to women and children to have a fresh start free from abuse.
- $150 The Gift of Shelter from Storms - Provides emergency services: beds, meals, schooling and transportation for women and children.
- $250 The Gift of Recovery - Provides counseling, medical, dental and legal services to victims of abuse.
Ready to get out your running shoes? Family Violence Prevention Services, Inc. is hosting its 9th annual Purple Run on Oct. 16 at 8 a.m. located at Our Lady of the Lake University. Individuals can participate virtually or in-person.
If you would like to support FVPS, you can volunteer or give a monetary or non-monetary donation. To learn more, click or tap here.
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KSAT Community operates in partnership with University Health, Energy Transfer and Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union.