More Than a Shelter
As National Domestic Abuse Awareness month, October serves as an important reminder for us to learn more, advocate for survivors, and help educate our communities.
However, at Kendall County Women’s Shelter (KCWS), our fight against family violence doesn’t end as we transition into the holiday season. Understanding what domestic abuse is and how it affects families is critical for effective advocacy work year-round. Knowing what resources exist to support survivors of domestic abuse, like KCWS, can be a powerful factor in promoting cycle breaking behaviors in your own communities.
While we carry the name “Kendall County Women’s Shelter,” we offer a wide range of services to survivors and their families that go beyond housing for women.
We’re thrilled to share with you more about who we are at KCWS, our values as an agency, and how we directly supporting those impacted by domestic abuse in our communities.
Who are we at KCWS?
We believe in the inherent strength and resilience of every individual and are committed to fostering a community where awareness, respect, and compassion prevail. We aim to provide a brighter future for families free from fear and violence – one that is full of possibility and potential.
The mission behind our work is to provide comprehensive support, resources, and shelter for survivors and their pets, while also raising awareness about the impact and origins of domestic abuse.
Our ultimate hope for our program is to provide an environment for families experiencing domestic abuse by offering them shelter, support, and any other resources necessary to break the cycle of abuse.
Are our services needed?
The short answer: yes.
Sourced from: Texas’ 2023 DVHRT Statewide Report. Available at https://tcfv.org/reports/
Nationally, more than 1 in 3 individuals will experience intimate partner violence (including physical, emotional or sexual abuse; harassment; stalking; and human trafficking).
Moreover, Texans seem to experience higher rates of domestic abuse compared to many other states (Texan’s lifetime prevalence of domestic abuse = 40%).
While we serve clients who seek our services from across the nation, more than half of our clients come to us from Bexar County (San Antonio), Texas.
In 2022, San Antonio reported over 1,200 requests for services, with over 60% of these requests being made for immediate safety and intervention services.
In 2023, 205 Texans lost their life to domestic abuse related homicide (14 resided in Bexar County). More than half of these homicides were completed by an abuser using a firearm.
See Honoring Texan Victims: Victim Narratives , A TCFV report in memory of the Texas women and men killed by their intimate partners in 2023.
Our Staff
KCWS Executive Leadership Team
With a shared mission of creating a safe place for survivors of domestic violence and abuse, our team stands together to support and uplift women and men on their journey towards healing and freedom.
Curious as to who is driving the mission? Each of our team members play a critical role in meeting the needs of our clients and agency:
KCWS 2024 Staff
To see our full staff directory, or contact a specific KCWS team member, visit kcwstexas.org/leadership#ourteam.
Our Services
KCWS offers clients a range of services that aim to support survivors as they make the brave decision to leave their abuser. However, each client comes to us with their own experiences and needs, for themselves and their children.
After engaging in an initial assessment of the clients’ needs, our family coordinator works with the client to create service a plan that best supports their journey to healing, as well as their children’s (and potentially pet’s). Services we often offer clients include:
Access to our 24/7 Hotline: KCWS operates our own crisis-call hotline, by which we receive a daily average of more than 5 incoming crisis calls. If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse and in need of services, you can call us today at 800-495-8078.
Safety Planning: Our family coordinator works with clients to determine the safest way to approach future potentially dangerous situations (the initial act of leaving an abuser, returning home to collect important items, navigating joint custody with an abuser, etc.).
Housing: While not all clients will need a place to stay after leaving an abuser, many do. We can offer safe and secure housing for survivors, their children, and pets.
Case management: Given that every client has their own personal needs and goals, our family coordinator completes ongoing assessments with each client. This helps us determine which services would be most helpful to a specific individual, and we can then support the client in obtaining these services.
Counseling/Therapy: Up to 84% of domestic abuse survivors show symptoms of significant posttraumatic stress, including feeling “on-edge,” having nightmares, or feeling hopelessness. To mitigate these negative impacts of abuse, we offer individual and family counseling to residential and nonresidential clients.
Support Groups: Research shows that feeling like you belong in healthy, supportive communities can can promote emotional well-being after traumatic experiences. We host support groups throughout the week, including art therapy sessions, mom’s groups, time to journal together, and other evidence-based activities that promote healing.
Child Services/Recreational Groups: In the same way, children also need positive social support and community to thrive, learn and grow. We prioritize these needs through group trips to the community pool, library, or other recreational centers, as well as providing support for families during birthday and holiday celebrations.
Child Educational Agreements: In many cases, returning children to school, or enrolling in a new school, after domestic abuse can feel overwhelming. We assist our clients in the enrollment process, as well as with any other educational needs for their children.
Legal/Medical Advocacy: Even for someone who has not experienced abuse, navigating medical and legal systems can be tricky. We are here to support our clients through these.
Transportation Services: Many of our clients seeking services do not own their own vehicle, and currently, there is are no public transportation options in the Boerne area. We can provide transportation for families, whether it’s to go to a scheduled court hearing, hang out at the community pool for the day, or just to grab a few grocery items from the store.
Food/Nutrition Assistance: A balanced diet is critical for emotional wellbeing and growth. We prepare dinners for residential families nightly and offer healthy options for clients to make meals at all other times. Nonresidential clients may also take advantage of meal services.
Hygiene/Household/Personal Needs Assistance: Our clients often come to us with minimal personal items. When leaving an abuser in a rush, your shampoo and favorite dress are often left behind for the sake of safety. We can try to replace these items, or if we can’t, hopefully we can provide items that help the client feel a sense of humanity and care again.
Pet services: Pets are part of the family. In fact, national data suggests 97% of survivors with a pet state that leaving their animal behind prevented them from seeking safe shelter. At KCWS, you don’t have to choose between safety and leaving your furry friend behind (we accept clients with all pet types, so no need to worry about the “scaley” or “feathery” friends, either).
2024 Young Hearts Community Presentation
Research/Community Education: Key to preventing domestic abuse is community education around where abuse stems from, as well as the impact it can have on survivors, their families, and society at large. KCWS invests in domestic abuse research and education initiatives to continue critically informing our program, as well as to encourage others to engage in our mission.
Since 2019, KCWS has also supported Young Hearts, our teen dating violence prevention program.
Not only are we starting relationship violence prevention work early with these students, they are becoming community advocates, themselves. Young Hearts students conduct their own research and offer age-appropriate presentations to their peers. For more information about Young Hearts, you can visit kcwsteaxas.org/younghearts or email younghearts@kcwstexas.org.
Our Impact
Last year alone, KCWS received nearly 2,000 crisis calls, resulting in the supportive care of 184 adult clients and 98 child clients (and 31 pets).
225 of these clients received housing services, and nearly 350 individual safety plans were created with our Family Coordinator. KCWS reported more than 700 cases of direct child services last year.
Numbers help us understand the scope of different issues we assist our clients with daily. But to really understand the impact of quality support after surviving domestic abuse, it is best for you to hear it from survivors, themselves:
“I came to KCWS with what I could shove in my car in a haste to escape violent abuse. Abuse against myself and my three children. You don’t realize how bad something you are surviving through is until you come to a place where your nervous system can begin to regulate. KCWS gave us a safe place to begin a journey toward healing…Immediately our physical needs were met...
Within the first three hours I was there, my daughter had medical [needs]. Once we got back from the hospital, an adorable young lady brought me clean clothes. I will hold on to that shirt forever. I didn’t even have to ask her for them. She saw all my kids bathed and in clean clothes and realized that I had nothing. [She] sat with me on my first night at KCWS. She looked at me like I was a human and anticipated my needs compassionately and appropriately…
Once I was okay with that it was time to start building our way to better…Within weeks my kids where in childcare/school and I was off to find a job with every document I could ever need in hand. We had applied for all the recourses I never knew existed… I was offered therapy and our basic needs were met. We were given a place to thrive. To shed survival mode, educate ourselves about abuse, about financial literacy, and truly thrive… Without the staff that sat in my 3 month meeting that laughed through the awkward and asked me twice are you sure your brakes will be okay, I very well may not be alive today…
I started college today. I will buy a house in a few years. I will watch my children get married, and I will grow old because of your smiles - because of kindness, because of your lack of judgement, because of your education. Because of you I will never be on the news. My babies will never be on the news. ”
Our Volunteers
Fabulous Finds Thrift Stores
The work we do at KCWS is only possible because of generous support we receive from our community volunteers and donors. We know time and resources are limited for most, but by getting involved with KCWS, or your local domestic abuse agency, you can truly make a difference.
Volunteering Opportunities: KCW Shelter is an agency where compassion meets action. As a volunteer, you'll have the opportunity to support individuals and families as they transition out of violence and into their journey to safety and independence.
Not sure how you can help? The best way to support survivors is by using the skills you already have!
Have an eye for interior design? Come showcase your skills by giving our shelter a makeover!
Are you the neighborhood “handy-person”? Just like any other home, we often seek volunteers for different maintenance needs!
Love to host a party? We always need volunteers to help with community events and fundraisers!
Self-proclaimed “fashionista?” Check out volunteer opportunities at Fabulous Finds, our thrift stores! 100% of profits obtained from Fabulous Finds directly supports KCWS programming and its clients. Visit www.kcwstexas.org/thrift-stores to get more information about volunteering today!
To learn more about volunteering with KCWS, or to apply, visit kcwstexas.org/volunteer.
Donations: Don’t have the time right now to volunteer? We get it. Monetary donations also help provide the support necessary to successfully run our program. By making a donation today, you can directly support survivors, as well as the overall family health of our communities.
To donate towards KCWS’s mission today, you can visit kcwstexas.org/support-our-cause.
Our Challenges and Goals
Our most significant barrier to success at KCWS: silence.
We know that topics around domestic abuse can be “taboo,” or uncomfortable to talk about publicly. However, mentalities around these conversations such as, “don’t ask, don’t tell,” or “what happens within the home, should stay in the home,” fundamentally perpetuate harmful stigma and keep survivors from seeking our help.
Beyond this, bystanders of abuse often prevent other community members from understanding and engaging on our mission - which can be a significant barrier to agencies having a positive impact.
It’s past time we began having the hard, but necessary, conversations around domestic abuse.
2024 Lavender Lens Roundtable Community Discussion
We don’t pause our work at KCWS because others may believe that domestic abuse shouldn’t be discussed, or that abuse doesn’t directly impact our communities. In fact, we continue to grow and expand our outreach efforts in spite of these common, but false, perceptions. KCWS is making critical choices that work against barriers to success:
Offering Services to Survivors with Safe Housing: While many survivors seek housing services, not all do. Some clients have a family member or friend that they can safely stay with. Our nonresidential services offer support to survivors who have obtained safe shelter but are still in need of other critical services.
Teen Prevention: This year, we invested in the development of an updated, evidence-based curriculum for our Young Hearts program. While we work to expand our teen prevention efforts, Young Hearts students are engaging in meaningful learning, independent research, and gaining the skills necessary to be an advocate for healthy relationships in their communities. Our goal for Young Hearts is to continue mitigating risk for adult domestic abuse victimization and perpetration through early and effective prevention.
Community Engagement: Not only do we work hard at KCWS, but we also play hard! We love any chance to celebrate the work we do and the success of our clients with the community.
This year, we hosted our Fiesta Community Appreciation Dinner, our Up the Ante Poker Tournament, our Through a Lavender Lens Roundtable Discussion , as well as our 4th annual Gary Rich Golf Tournament. We hope to see you at our next annual event, our inaugural black-tie event, The Lavender Ball, in Spring of 2025!
To view all KCWS events, you can visit kcwstexas.org/events.
Your Resources
KCWS is more than a just a place to obtain safe shelter. We exist to support survivors in diverse ways, as well as their families, pets, and are deeply committed to serving any community members looking to join the fight against domestic abuse (this can be you!). We strive to be a source of positivity, growth, and healing in all contexts of relationship health and well-being for our communities.
Whether you have directly experienced domestic abuse, care for someone who has, or simply want to get involved with our mission, KCWS is here for you.
Want to learn more about the origins and impacts of domestic abuse? Have a specific question related to these topics? You can visit kcwstexas.org/kcwsblog to read more, or use the form at the bottom of the page to request specific information or a domestic abuse sensitivity training for your team.
Below are additional resources for survivors, those seeking general domestic abuse information, as well as ways to get involved:
For Survivors:
Kendall County Women’s Shelter:
Office Phone: 830-331-1001
24/7 Crisis Hotline: 800-495-8078
National Domestic Violence Hotline (The Hotline):
1-800-799-SAFE (7233)
Find a Domestic Abuse Shelter Near You:
For Learning:
Kendall County Women’s Shelter Blog & Educational Material Request Form:
San Antonio Collaborative Commission on Domestic Violence (CCDV) Reports:
Texas Council on Family Violence Reports:
U.S. National Network to End Domestic Violence Reports:
www.nnedv.org/about-us/dv-counts-census/
Make a Difference:
Volunteer with KCWS:
Texas Council on Family Violence Awareness Initiatives:
The Hotline’s Member Community:
The Hotline Membership community provides a platform for individuals to stay informed, share information, and connect with like-minded individuals dedicated to supporting victims and survivors of domestic violence.
About the Author
Prior to her service at KCWS as the Research & Education Coordinator, Sarah received a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Colorado Boulder and a Master of Science degree in Research Psychology from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Having dedicated the past six years to researching factors related to posttraumatic stress, Sarah has collaborated with domestic abuse, foster care, and military support agencies. She is passionate about enhancing trauma-informed policies and practices, and is on track to obtain her PhD, Fall 2024.
Email: sarah@kcwstexas.org
KCWS Phone: 830.428.4930