Purple was everywhere Saturday — purple T-shirts, purple ribbons, even purple jogging shorts and running shoes. These purple-clad individuals flocked to downtown Boerne Saturday for a cause, and to support those most affected.
Saturday was the first “Walk The Mile” event, part of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month — organized to focus on the problem of domestic violence and to show support for its survivors.
The purple-clad attendees met on the Kendall County Courthouse lawn to hear from Kendall County Judge Shane Stolarczyk, Criminal District Attorney Nicole Bishop, County Sheriff Al Auxier, and Boerne Police Chief Steve Perez.
The event, widely attended by high schoolers, was a success, according to Transformation House Executive Director Lori Houck.
“I was pleased to see so many teens in attendance,” Houck said. “I really appreciated the messaging they were receiving about prevention and intervention. It starts in those years, and they are not too young to be thinking about this or to learn about this.”
Transformation House, launched in 2018, offers transitional housing for women and children impacted by domestic violence in Kendall County through a strengths-based, client- centered program designed to help families transition out of homelessness.
Houck emphasized the importance of awareness, recalling a story of one victim who had been desperately searching for a safe place, only to find most places were full.
“She had been receiving some medical treatment for some injuries she sustained (due to domestic violence),” Houck said. “She was on the verge of being released and needed a safe place for her and her kids to be.”
The victim — and survivor — submitted an application to the Transformation House, which not only provides housing, but counselors for the family, as well as individual sessions with the survivor.
“After she (survivor) worked with the case manager, they put together a treatment plan for everyone to get her back on her feet,” Houck said. “She worked really hard. When she came to us, she was working full-time in food service, but she had a college degree, and she was able to find a job in her field and started saving up money and began healing from her trauma.”
The typical stay at Transformation House is 16 months, according to Houck. Criteria for acceptance is that the individual is experiencing abuse, on the verge of homelessness or already homeless, has a willingness to work and go to school, will maintain a drug and alcohol-free environment, and has their own transportation.
Houck said this particular survivor expressed how difficult it was for her to find a service that would help her.
“That phrase stuck with me,” Houck said. “There are so many other women in her situation and sometimes the timing doesn’t work out, or they can’t find an opening in a program like ours when they need it the most.”
This was one of the reasons Houck was so thankful that Walk The Mile brought out so many people, reminding them of the services available and the signs to look out for.
Stolarczyk shared the appreciation for the turnout.
“Turnout this morning to support the survivors of domestic violence was exceptional,” he said. “The level of support we saw confirms our citizens care about this cause and stand united to end domestic violence in Kendall
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