'End Domestic Violence Task Force' establishes hotel voucher system with KPD
Frank Cardenas, South Texas Community News
The “End Domestic Violence Task Force” is now teaming up with the Kingsville Police Department to establish a voucher system to house individuals who may be directly impacted by domestic violence.
The EDV Task Force was created in Nov. 2018 when Kingsville residents gathered to discuss a plan of action to assist victims of domestic abuse who seek help when an act of domestic violence occurs over a weekend.
The idea for the task force is to have local law enforcement and willing volunteers come together as a unit and talk about what they can do to help prevent domestic violence.
A new emergent hotel voucher system is in place for residents of Kingsville, as the EDV Task Force works to find more ways to help individuals seeking shelter when they experience cases of abuse.
KPD Chief Ricardo Torres said in the past, independent church groups in the area would help in securing housing for those police felt needed assistance after a domestic disturbance.
“A lot of times, housing, you'd have to go to the shelter outside of town,” Torres said. “And then you had situations where children needed to go to school the next morning… So it's been a long time project, getting it where it needs to be.”
Kathy Kimball, a member of the task force who helped to spearhead the voucher system, said at first it was difficult to come up with a way to house individuals in need when the Purple Door was unavailable. However, the voucher system allows a KPD officer the right to decide on whether to put a person and their children in a hotel for one night.
“So basically, what they have done is, if we have somebody that we have identified that we need to get out of harm's way, we actually have agreements in place where we can find housing for them,” Chief Torres said. “And the End Domestic Violence group, actually, instead of us having to worry about ‘how is going to get paid?’ and stuff like that, they actually take care of that situation.”
“The bills for the voucher goes directly to First Baptist Church where they have set aside some money to take care of that,” Kimball said.
Torres said his officers are already trained to handle domestic disputes when they arrive at a residence where it is reported, but the KPD is also providing training for the voucher system now that it is in place.
“We’re still working on it, but we do expect to do additional training,” Torres said.
Purple Door Coordinator Jennifer Radcliffe added that the night the voucher is used, the KPD will also be driving by the hotels regularly to make sure the individuals who put their voucher to use are safe throughout the night.
Radcliffe said after the voucher has been used by officers to house the individuals, a copy of the voucher is sent to the Purple Door so they can contact the individuals to inform them of resources in the community that can help them.
“Whether they choose to move forward with it or not - with us or anybody else - they at least know that there's some help within the community,” Radcliffe said. “So that when they're ready, they're able to reach out and feel comfortable.”
Both Kimball and Radcliffe said they are working to include more area police departments, other local entities, and the Kleberg County Sherriff’s Office in the voucher program in the future. Their goal is to be able to establish the voucher system in all surrounding areas of Kingsville, including Bishop, Ricardo, and Riviera.
For more information, contact the KPD on their non-emergency number at (361) 594-4311, or the Purple Door in Kingsville at (361) 516-0288.