Tarrant County domestic violence shelters back to taking new clients amid coronavirus
New applicants are again being accepted at SafeHaven of Tarrant County, just days after officials announced they were full and they couldn’t shelter any new domestic violence victims amid the coronavirus pandemic, an official said Friday.
The shelters in Fort Worth and Arlington have had some victims move out in the past few days, opening some more rooms, said SafeHaven President and CEO Kathryn Jacob on Friday..
In addition, four travel trailers arrived Friday at the shelters to be used for extra space, Jacob said.
“The calls are slightly down, but the cases are more violent,” Jacob told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in a telephone interview on Friday.
Before the virus outbreak hit Tarrant County last month, SafeHaven’s shelters were full, with their 164 beds at capacity.
On March 24, SafeHaven officials then had to deal with distancing residents as required by COVID-19 emergency declarations. Authorities still have ordered for people stay at least 6 feet from each other and to stay home if possible.
It was at that time that SafeHaven officials elected to stop accepting new applicants, the first time the shelters had done that in more than 40 years.
With schools closed and many people working from home, agencies that serve victims across Tarrant County and the country were concerned about an increase in domestic violence.
In February, there would be an average of 63 calls to SafeHaven’s hotline in Tarrant County.
In mid-March, it had 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.
The calls are slightly down this week, Jacob said.
“It’s down because they may not be able to call us because they are stuck at home,” Jacob said.
In mid-March, doctors at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth had already noted an increase in child abuse. 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 who are 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 online for SafeHaven.
Victims in Tarrant County should call SafeHaven’s hotline at 1-877-701-7233 or 911 for emergencies.
