Casa De Misericordia

Programs: Shelter program the purpose of casa de misericordia (casa) domestic violence program is to provide a safe and secure environment in which victims of domestic violence can access the best of services in order to make informed decisions about their future. Casa de misericordia offers 24 hour-a-day full service shelter and 24 hour-a-day crisis telephone hotlines. Casa provides advocacy and intervention services, safety planning, counseling and support groups, information and referral services, legal and immigration advocacy and transportation. Casa also provides child centered activities. These activities include safety planning, counseling and counseling referrals, music classes, tutoring, summer camps, primary prevention and anti-bullying activities for children, and projects for teenagers in which they can learn about teen dating violence. In fiscal year 2017, casa provided residential services to 282 adults and 476 children for a total 7,141 shelter days. The shelter program also provided 1,418 counseling hours to an average of 97 adult victims per month. Casa hosted 129 support and therapy group sessions in which attendees totaled 1,223 adults and 2,139 children. During this same period, casa provided 15 court accompaniments, distributed 862 adult bus tickets and 164 children's bus tickets, and provided music classes to 187 attendees and tutoring to 160 attendees. All of these services are important in that they not only provide safety and security for victims of domestic violence but also because they break down barriers for victims and help them develop coping skills, self-esteem, knowledge of community resources and support networks.

education center program the purpose of the education center program is two-fold. The first is to empower women and children to develop the knowledge, skills and resources needed to live a life free from violence. The second is to provide opportunities for community education in which the community can learn about domestic violence, its effects and how the community plays a role in ending domestic violence. The education center provides a number of classes, some of which are offered at different levels of proficiency, aimed at helping victims of domestic violence become self-sufficient. Casa works with laredo community college, the mexican consulate, and individuals from the community to provide instructors and materials for each class. In fiscal year 2017, casa provided 147 community presentations to 6,013 attendees, 56 television interviews and/or public service announcements, and 25 newspaper interviews/articles. Casa is committed to working with community collaborators. Casa is one of the founding members of the webb county domestic violence coalition, a grass roots organization composed of approximately 35 community organizations that meets monthly to discuss how best the community can address domestic violence in the community. The coalition also facilitates an annual conference that brings together law enforcement, advocacy and health professionals, and those who work in the field of education to learn.