Friday, September 27, 2024
Members of the Granbury City Council and the Hood County Commissioners Court both proclaimed October 2024 Domestic Violence Awareness Month during their most recent regularly scheduled meetings.
According to the city’s proclamation read by Place 6 Councilman Greg Corrigan Sept. 17, domestic violence is a serious crime that touches all communities regardless of age, race, disability or socioeconomic status.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline reports that an average of 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner in the United States — which is more than 12 million women and men over the course of a single year.
One in four women and one in seven men aged 18 and older in the U.S. have been the victim of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime, according to thehotline.org.
The proclamations state that Mission Granbury received and responded to 950 domestic violence hotline calls last year alone. Additionally, the need for safe housing continues to be rated as a survivor’s most urgent need.
Mission Granbury provides a safe-haven shelter for women and children who are victims of domestic violence. For victims who are not seeking shelter, Mission Granbury’s nonresidential program provides victims with safety planning, counseling, case management and resources. In Fiscal Year 2024, Mission Granbury’s Family Violence Program provided services to 181 women, 132 children and nine men.
The proclamations also state that Domestic Violence Awareness Month provides an excellent opportunity for citizens to learn about preventing domestic violence and to show support for the organizations and individuals who provide critical advocacy, services and assistance to victims.
In recognition of the important work done by survivors, domestic violence programs and victims’ service providers, the city and county proclaimed October 2024 Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Granbury.
Following the city’s proclamation Sept. 17, Mayor Jim Jarratt made a startling revelation regarding the number of Mission Granbury hotline calls made last year.
“It occurred to me that 950 is almost three a day, every day of the week, every day of the year. Thank you. Thank you so much,” he said to the Mission Granbury staff.
Rebbecca Freeman, shelter program director for Mission Granbury, also highlighted an upcoming event: a candlelight vigil on the square scheduled for Oct. 22 at 7 p.m.
"It’s for all the victims who lost their lives in 2023 in Texas who were victims of domestic violence,” she explained. “We'll have the victims' names attached to a candle just to honor them.”
For more information about the candlelight vigil or Mission Granbury in general, go online to missiongranbury.org.
