PAPA Honored

The Political Asylum Project of Austin's office of the Outreach and Volunteer Coordinator was honored yesterday for its work with the Coordinated Community Response Team (CCRT) at a conference for judges, magistrates, and clergy held at the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort in Bastrop, Texas.

The CCRT works to address family violence in Lee, Bastrop, Colorado, and Fayette counties.

The conference, sponsored by the Family Crisis Center of Bastrop, was incredibly interesting and a huge success. It brought together groups that normally would not come together for a highly engaging and informative dialogue. The conference title, "Building a Community of Hope," was apt. Speakers included Judge Michael Denton of Austin, Ramona Natera of Texas Rio-Grande Legal Aid, Judge Lora Livingston of Travis County, Judge Kathleen Hamilton of Montgomery County, and Bastrop County Judge Ronnie McDonald, among others -- each of whom grappled with the problem of overcoming and dealing with family violence.

PAPA is honored to have been honored and looks forward to continuing its work with the Family Crisis Center and the CCRT.

Rural Outreach

The OOVC has most recently been to Martindale and Giddings. In Giddings (Lee County) we have been invited to join the local inter-agency meeting. We gave a presentation on PAPA programs and services during our inaugural visit, and look forward to contributing to future meetings on a regular basis. In Martindale (Caldwell County) we met with the local police department, had a brief ride-along with one of their officers and have been invited to attend the local Fun Fest, a community gathering/informational/educational fair and fund-raiser for the local volunteer fire department, this Saturday. We were also invited by the PD to attend the Caldwell County inter-agency meetings and look forward to doing so.

Bastrop, Fayette, and Lee Counties/ESL Classes in Round Rock

The OOVC has been busy doing outreach in these three counties. PAPA has become a member of the CCRT (Coordinated Community Response Team) for Bastrop, Fayette, Lee, and Colorado counties and recently represented PAPA on the CCRT at a Criminal Justice Training in Bastrop, Texas. Most recently we met with APS representatives in Giddings, Texas (Lee County) and have been invited by the local County Extension Office to attend the local Lee county monthly inter-agency meetings, where we will discuss PAPA programs and services.

We've also been extremely busy doing presentations at ESL and Civics classes in Round Rock; four for the month of March alone. These are highly labor intensive (packet prep, travel time, class time (usually 2 hrs), followed by Q&A), but well worth the effort.

Outreach in Bastrop County

The OOVC has been laying the groundwork for increased outreach in Bastrop County.

We've already given presentations to ESL and citizenship classes through Advocacy Outreach of Elgin, and have another session planned later this week. We've also had an excellent meeting with the Family Crisis Center of Bastrop and, as a result, have been invited to be a member of the county-wide CCRT, Bastrop's equivalent of a domestic violence task force. PAPA will be speaking about its programs and services at that meeting on February 7, 2008. The OOVC also made trips to Giddings and La Grange, other cities where the Family Crisis Center has offices.

BT

December Meeting of the SSDVTF

Though bad weather resulted in relatively low attendance, the December meeting of the San Saba Domestic Violence Task Force got some excellent work done. Members are active and involved, vocal and energetic. Pictured from left to right are: Georgia Harris (Dove Project), Dee Vickery (Off the Beaten Path Ministries), Kathy Dixon (District Attorney's Office, Thirty-Third Judicial District), Allen Brown (San Saba Police Department) and, not shown, Brenna Troncoso (Political Asylum Project of Austin).

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

The OOVC would like to wish everyone a very happy and safe Thanksgiving.

BT

Collaboration with The Dove Project of San Saba

As part of PAPA's Lesser Served Counties Initiative (LSCI), The Political Asylum Project of Austin has joined with The Dove Project of San Saba, Texas, to found the San Saba Domestic Violence Task Force (SSDVTF), the first such task force in San Saba county. In addition to increasing awareness and prevention of domestic violence in the area, one of the primary goals of the task force will be to place San Saba at the forefront of addressing domestic violence issues in rural Texas.

BT