Tarrant County domestic violence shelters full, not taking new clients amid coronavirus
For the first time in more than 40 years, SafeHaven officials on Tuesday said they would not be able to accept new domestic violence victims at the organization’s Tarrant County shelters.
The order in response to the coronavirus pandemic will be in effect until April 3.
“It’s heartbreaking,” said SafeHaven president and CEO Kathryn Jacob on Tuesday.
Jacob said SafeHaven’s shelters were full even before the outbreak of the coronavirus began. The 164 beds at the shelters in Fort Worth and Arlington are at capacity.
SafeHaven officials also must deal with distancing residents as required by emergency declarations. Authorities have ordered people stay at least 6 feet from each other.
“In other times, we would put some residents on a couch or use our gymnasium, but we don’t have the space,” Jacob said.
She said some officials have suggested that the organization contract out to area hotels to house victims.
“Our goal has been for victims to be safe,” Jacob said. “I don’t think we could provide that by contracting out to hotels.”
Victims in Tarrant County should still call SafeHaven’s hotline at 1-877-701-7233 or 911 for emergencies.
The order comes at a time when domestic violence has started to increase in Tarrant County and across the country.
A month ago, there would be an average of 63 calls to SafeHaven’s hotline in Tarrant County.
This week, it has increased to an average of 70 to 71, and officials expect those numbers will continue to rise at the Tarrant County agency which provides services to domestic violence victims.
“It’s very scary,” Jacob said.
Before Tuesday, SafeHaven officials had never declined to accept new clients in more than 40 years.
With schools closed and many people working from home, agencies that serve victims across the country are concerned about an increase in domestic violence.
In Tarrant County, officials issued a stay-at-home order Tuesday.
“In this particular time, with COVID-19, home can be pretty intense for domestic violence victims and survivors, due to the abusers’ ability to further control,” Ruth Glenn, the president and CEO of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), told ABC News.
“Survivors and children may have had some respite by going to work and school,” Glenn said.
Doctors at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth have already noted an increase in child abuse. As of Saturday, doctors had seen seven cases of severe child abuse between March 17-21. Two of those children died.
In Tarrant County, one in three women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime, according to SafeHaven officials. In 2018, five Tarrant County women were murdered by their current or former intimate partner.
Employees at SafeHaven also have had to work overtime to care for school-aged children being at the shelters during the day instead of at school.
Jacob said SafeHaven officials will need $550,000 to operate in the next 90 days, which may be hard to obtain because private donations and government funding are expected to decrease.
The money goes to supplies and salaries for SafeHaven employees working with children and families.
Donations can be made here for SafeHaven.
This story was originally published March 24, 2020 at 1:30 PM.
