BEXAR COUNTY, Texas — As Domestic Violence Awareness Month in March draws to a close, one organization is continuing its work in turning around trends in numbers.
It's has been a tragic and violent month for victims of domestic violence in Bexar County.
Just in the last month, a man shot and killed his wife and child in an apparent murder-suicide. Another man wanted for shooting his girlfriend tried to evade police, leading to a standoff on the southeast side. And a woman was held against her will, beated and starved for three days.
"Bexar has occupied a place that I call the dishonorable distinction when it comes to the entire state," Marta Pelaez, CEO of Family Violence Prevention Services, said.
The most recent stats show Bexar County has the third highest rate of domestic violence deaths in the state. And calls for help are on the rise.
"We have been seeing a progressive upward trend in our numbers. Right now, as it is, we are at pre-COVID numbers," Pelaez said.
Pelaez says more than 160 people are currently in their care; most of them children.
"Generationally, a child that grows in the presence of domestic violence, it's modeled behavior and reinforced many times," Pelaez said.
Patricia Castillo, with the PEACE Initiative, is working to break that cycle of abuse.
"It's always, always an uphill battle to deal with issues of domestic violence," Castillo said.
Castillo encourages victims to seek help, as emotional trauma and violence only get worst over time.
"I feel like our city could do better at arresting people who partake in the crime of domestic violence," Castillo said.
But it's also up to the community. One phone call can save a life.
"Domestic violence feeds on secrecy," Pelaez said.
"When we do see the signs, like we hear our neighbors fighting, we hear what's happening across the street … don't just turn up the volume on the TV. Send the police," Castillo said.