Who We Are
The Wintergarden Women’s Shelter is non-profit organization that provides temporary emergency shelter and services to victims and survivors of domestic violence and/or sexual assault. The WWS service area encompasses the four counties of Dimmit, Zavala, La Salle and Maverick County. The shelter, administration offices and Crisis Center are located in Carrizo Springs, Dimmit County, Texas which is the centralized location of the four-county service area. WWS also operates an outreach office in each one of the counties it serves.
Our Philosophy
There is no excuse for physical, sexual, emotional or psychological abuse of one human being by another. Today, domestic violence threatens the moral fiber of the family structure and society at large. Violence denies the inalienable rights of humankind. The Wintergarden Women’s Shelter encourages individuals and communities to stand up and take responsibility to putting an end to the cycle of violence that permeates American families.
Our Mission Statement
The Wintergarden Women’s Shelter Inc. is dedicated to providing temporary safe-haven for victims of family violence and sexual assault. W.W.S. encompasses the Counties of Dimmit, Zavala, Maverick and LaSalle. However, we refuse to be limited geographically to individuals in need of our assistance. W.W.S. provides services to all victims of domestic violence and does not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, race, religion, nationality, or disability. We are dedicated to the pursuit of family safety and the pursuit of avenues that can better the quality of life for our clients. We strive to assist victims of domestic violence in breaking the vicious cycle of abuse by providing continued contact and support. We will continually endeavor to enhance the Shelter facilities and adapt our program to changing needs, in addition to generating public awareness regarding the dynamics of domestic violence.
History
When the Carrizo Springs Women’s Shelter closed in July, l994, the women who depended upon it and the four-county area it served were denied a vital service. Domestic violence is a community problem. When a woman fears for her life, the family structure breaks down and the moral fabric of society is threatened. At the time of the closing, several women were sent back to their abusers, including one woman who was later killed by her spouse. Mindful of the urgency, a diverse group representing businesses, the ministry, and social services re-opened the shelter as Wintergarden Women’s Shelter (WWS) in February, 1995 with a grant from the Ewing Halsell Foundation.
Housed in a former Border Patrol Station that was renovated in 1990 with a grant from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, the Wintergarden Women’s Shelter officially serves a fifty-mile radius that includes the counties of Dimmit, Maverick, LaSalle, and Zavala, and handles overflow from Uvalde and Hondo. The project originated after an assessment conducted by the Community Services Agency of Dimmit, LaSalle and Maverick Counties (CSA) concluded that a women’s shelter was needed. Lacking the expertise to operate a shelter, CSA staff contracted with the Hondo-based Southwest Family Life Centers.
During its two-year operation under Southwest Family Centers, the shelter expanded its services from eight hours per day, five day per week, to 24-hours per day, seven days per week as a full-service shelter that provided extended stay, counseling, transportation, advocacy, and information and referrals. When a reorganization of its regional operation led the Southwest Family Life Centers to close in 1994, community volunteers decided to reopen it as a community controlled and supported non-profit entity.
Reorganized as the Wintergarden Women’s Shelter, the facility opened on February 1, 1995 with one full-time employee and four part-time assistants. Today, WWS employs 17 full-time employees. The Wintergarden Women’s Shelter, Inc. is funded by the following state and federal grants:
The Victims of Crime Act grant (VOCA) has enabled WWS to hire a children’s counselor and adult counselor, a legal advocate, a shelter director, and off-duty officers to provide safe transportation to the Shelter. WWS recognizes that temporary housing in a women’s shelter is only part of the solution for domestic violence victims. To be complete, services must include opportunities for rehabilitation through counseling and recourse through the legal system. A victim also must feel secure in her daily life. The goal of the VOCA program, therefore, is to ensure that WWS offers complete services to its clients.
The Violence Against Women’s Act (VAWA) program was developed with the idea that Wintergarden Women’s Shelter must be able to provide services to all victims in its four-county region. Located in Carrizo Springs, Texas, the shelter is a 45-minute drive from the other towns in its service area. The problem is exacerbated by a lack of a daily, inexpensive transportation. In order to provide services to all counties, WWS developed through VAWA an outreach program with offices in Maverick and Zavala Counties.
The Violence Against Women’s Act (VAWA) Law Enforcement Training was developed to train law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and service professionals about the dynamics of domestic violence and to help law enforcement officers learn to more effectively identify and respond to violent crimes against women including sexual assault victims. Through this program, WWS funds a law enforcement coordinator/agency liaison, law enforcement coordinator assistant and a part time outreach worker/volunteer coordinator.
The Rural Domestic Violence and Child Victimization Enforcement (RDV) program was designed with a four-part goal: to increase community awareness, to enhance outreach, to educate law enforcement, and to coordinate existing community resources. Under RDV, WWS holds training seminars for educators, housing authority personnel, the ministry, and other groups. Certified instructors have been provided to help educate area law enforcement about domestic violence which is unlike other crimes that law enforcement handles bilingual pamphlets, cards, and other literature that describe area resources and define domestic violence have been distributed throughout the four-county area. Through RDV, WWS also funds one position in the Maverick County Outreach Office.
The Emergency Shelter Grant Program enabled the Wintergarden Women’s Shelter, Inc. to renovate the existing main building and the annex facility to a minimum of Section 8 Standards with accessibility to handicapped and disabled persons. Repairs included restoring the roof; inside bathrooms; kitchen, central air conditioning and heating; and secure the facility by providing a security system along with enclosed facilities for the children’s playground.
The Wintergarden Women’s Shelter, Inc. is under contract with Health and Human Services Commission, for the purpose of providing social and/or other services for the benefit of victims of domestic violence and to accept and expend funds received for such purposes.