Thanks to ongoing assistance from the federal government, men
and women who are abused by their spouses will continue to receive
vital services that keep them safe.
Thanks to ongoing assistance from the federal government, men and women who are abused by their spouses will continue to receive vital services that keep them safe.
The federal Office on Violence Against Women has offered to extend a grant the city of Morgan Hill has received for the last two years. If the city council votes to accept the grant at its meeting Wednesday, the nearly $1-million grant will continue to fund domestic violence enforcement and victims’ assistance programs for two more years.
The funds will continue to fund the salary and benefits for a full-time Morgan Hill Police detective whose job is to investigate and prosecute family violence cases, police Cmdr. Joe Sampson said.
The grant will also allow the city, and the grant administrator, to provide funding to five private nonprofit service providers throughout the county: Community Solutions, Maitri, Asian-Americans for Community Involvement, Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence and the Support Network.
The success of the grant over the last two years is illustrated by trends in Morgan Hill that show there has been a drop in domestic violence cases locally, while the number of cases accepted for filling by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office has increased 10 percent.
“Every victim is important, and that’s significant in our ability to protect victims from domestic violence,” Sampson said.
Having a domestic violence detective nearby, working as a liaison between prosecutors and service providers, has significantly facilitated assistance to victims, who have correspondingly gained trust in law enforcement, according to Community Solutions program director Perla Flores.
“He knows how to work with victims, and that’s key in developing relationships with victims,” Flores said.
One victim who has benefited from services funded by the federal grant is Morgan Hill resident Tamara Chukes. She was abused repeatedly by her husband for seven years, and with the help of Community Solutions she was able to secure and enforce a restraining order against him. Plus, the nonprofit provided her and her four children with counseling services, bus passes to allow her to continue working and financial assistance for a clean apartment to live in.
Perhaps the most helpful service she received was legal advocacy in court proceedings against her now-former husband, said Chukes, 31.
“When it was time for me to get a permanent restraining order, a legal advocate escorted me to the courthouse,” Chukes said. “Having her there made me comfortable and safe.”
Also provided through the grant are a part-time grant management position in Morgan Hill, language assistance services for non-English speaking victims, law enforcement training and education for victims.
The federal office continued to fund the competitive grant, Flores suggested, because they have seen the success of the local model of collaboration through the entire process of ensuring victims’ safety to empowering them to live without their abusers.
“What this is trying to do is strengthen collaboration among law enforcement and domestic violence service providers, and that’s going to keep the community safer. Overall, it’s a model that works” Flores said.
The city council will have to authorize matching general fund resources of $174,000 over the next two years in order to receive the federal grant.
