“I always knew it was here but I just kind of ignored it,” said Jennifer Radcliffe, the victim advocate for the Purple Door.
One in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have experienced some form of physical violence, according to the national coalition against domestic violence
Now a grassroots network of ordinary people in Kingsville is coming together to create the ‘End Domestic Violence Task Force’.
“It is made up of community members,” said Radcliffe.
Jack Willouby, pastor of First Baptist Church of Kingsville, says the group will work with several organizations to help victims escape abusive situations and help them find resources that local shelters like the purple door may not offer.
“Other nonprofit groups, people in healthcare, people in the legal system,” said Willouby. “If there’s someone we can help with hotel stay or food or other types of ways that we might be involved.”
Willouby says the task force will be dedicated to providing emotional support around the clock.
“Being able to have people on call that can go to court with someone who doesn’t want to be alone while they’re facing their perpetrator,” said Radcliffe.
Their simple goal is to do their part in ending the idea that those victims of domestic violence are alone.
“Domestic violence became more than just a statistic, it became more than a conversation, it became a person,” said Willouby.
