Gateway Family Services, Inc., uses the money it received from the United Way campaign last year to improve the shelter and help better assist victims of sexual assault and physical violence.
The shelter assists victims with finding jobs and housing and meets the physical needs of victims and their families.
According to Executive Director Lyndia Allen, Gateway used the money to replace the security system at the shelter. Allen said the money received from United Way this year will be used to replace the 18-year-old beds at the shelter.
Gateway Family Services serves victims of family violence and sexual assault in five counties — Scurry, Fisher, Kent, Mitchell and Nolan.
During the 2014-15 fiscal year, 791 people were served directly by Gateway and 4,027 residential and 547 non-residential service days were provided.
It was the first time in the shelter’s 31-year history that it exceeded 4,000 shelter visits. They provided more than 10,600 meals to clients.
Gateway’s goal is to provide shelter, food, clothing, peer counseling, advocacy, transportation and referrals for adults and children who are victims of sexual assault or family violence and to provide prevention education to the public.
The staff presents age-appropriate programs to students from pre-kindergarten through college during the school year. The programs revolve around Internet safety, bullying prevention, dating safety and sexual and physical abuse prevention.
“We work with the schools to help keep a victim’s children in school,” Allen said. “We also present violence prevention programs in area schools. During the last school year, we presented 442 programs to students.”
Gateway helps victims and their families in many ways.
Allen said the agency helped a family violence client and her children when they needed to obtain a protective order and legal aid.
“The backlog of people accessing North Texas Legal Aid is tremendous, so we knew her chances of timely assistance would be slim. We contacted Texas Advocacy Project in Austin with her case,” Allen said. “They accepted her case and one of their lawyers from Austin came to Snyder to represent her in court. The outcome was favorable for the client.”
Allen said the mother and children stayed at the shelter and had access to all services and resources.
“This client has worked hard to create happy, violence-free, productive lives for her children and herself,” Allen said.
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