Conroe - Montgomery Edition - March 2022

According to the Texas Council on Family Violence, five bills were passed in the 87th Texas legislative session that benefit victims of domestic and family violence. Legislation makes progress

assaults is victims often do not make themselves known or report every incident to law enforcement, accord- ing to Hutson. “Seventy-eight percent of the calls [to law enforcement] come from people who are not the vic- tim. They come from family, neigh- bors, friends, co-workers,” Hutson said. “When victims do call them- selves, the vast majority of it is in the moment of crisis when they think they’re either not going to make it out alive or they’re going to be seri- ously hurt or injured.” Hutson said victims are more likely to reach out to local support systems, such as the Montgomery County Women’s Center. Ten of the 13 law enforcement agencies in Montgomery County provided family violence reports to DPS. According to the data, there were 2,961 reported incidents of family violence in Montgomery County in 2019. However, according to Hutson, there were 49,618 hotline calls to MCWC. In 2020, the incidents increased roughly 7%, while hotline calls increased 31%. In 2021, incidents and hotline calls were 6.6% and 7% over 2019, respectively. “I think [we need] education, awareness, understanding and also for the community [to under- stand] that we’re talking about 1 in 3 women,” Hutson said. “It’s so preva- lent. It’s everywhere, but it’s behind closed doors.” Center services strained On Sept. 10, 2020, 93% of identified domestic violence programs in Texas participated in a one-day national count of domestic violence services conducted by the National Network to End Domestic Violence. The national count found 948 requests for services on that day were unmet due to a lack of resources. Both the MCWC and Houston Area Women’s Center—which often work together to place victims in the Houston region—continued to see increased inquiries and strained resources through 2021. Chau Nguyen, chief public strat- egies officer for the HAWC, said the center saw roughly a 15% increase in hotline calls from 2019 to 2020 and an additional 20% increase from 2020 to 2021. Nguyen said the HAWC has a 120- bed operation, and despite being the largest shelter provider in the Hous- ton region, the center occasionally

House Bill 766 House Bill 36 House Bill 1372 Senate Bill 798

The bill allows conditions of bonds to be entered into the Texas Crime Information Center so officers are aware when they come in contact with an offender violating a condition of bond.

The bill improves protective order statutes by ensuring timely issuance of orders, among other improvements.

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The bill allows victims to separate their wireless cell phone numbers from their abuser’s account without attaching any prior fees or additional charges. The bill allows victims access to critical documents, such as birth certificates, by creating fee waivers. Many victims flee violence quickly and often without critical documents.

The bill protects survivors of financial abuse by enabling coerced debt victims to be declared victims of identity theft in state district court. House Bill 3529 SOURCES: TEXAS COUNCIL ON FAMILY VIOLENCE, TEXAS LEGISLATURE/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER

Victims of violence often flee at night and without any belongings. Following the influx in inquiries, the MCWC is in need of resources to provide to survivors. For drop-off locations and requested items, visit www.mcwctx.org . How to support the Montgomery County Women’s Center The shelter needs the following supplies, newor gently used: AA batteries Full-size toiletries

turns people away. “On any given night, our shelter beds are full. There is a large demand for emergency housing,” Nguyen said. “Sometimes we have to turn away people.” Legislation aimed to help victims According to the Texas Council on Family Violence, the 87th Texas Leg- islature passed five bills that benefit victims of domestic and family vio- lence. Hutson said House Bill 766 is significant because it improves the immediate safety of a victim. Judges may issue conditions of bonds to protect victims from a per- son arrested for domestic violence, and prior to HB 766, law enforce- ment officers were unable to ver- ify the conditions of bonds in the Texas Crime Information Center, meaning they generally could not enforce them. As a result, victims, law enforcement and the commu- nity remained at risk, and offenders were often not held accountable if they violate conditions of bonds. The bill, which went into effect Jan. 1, requires the sheriff to enter the conditions of bonds into the informa- tion center so they are accessible and verifiable by law enforcement. In addition, $65.3 million in state funding was allocated for core fam- ily violence services in 2022-23. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission’s Family Violence Pro- gram will use the funds to provide comprehensive services to fam- ily violence centers, which are in most counties in Texas, including

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SOURCE: MONTGOMERY COUNTY WOMEN’S CENTER/ COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER

hotlines, advocacy, shelter and counseling services. Additional pieces of legisla- tion were passed to help survivors escape abusive situations by remov- ing the financial barriers the victim may face. “What these types of bills do for vic- tims is they make it easier to separate themselves from the abuser,” Hutson said. “I’m so glad to see that our Leg- islature is really paying attention.”

For more information, visit communityimpact.com .

CONROE - MONTGOMERY EDITION • MARCH 2022