Ian Juarez MCALLEN – A nonprofit organization called Mujeres Unidas teamed up with various law enforcement agencies in Hidalgo County to form the Domestic Violence High Risk Team, in early September.
The Hidalgo County Criminal District Attorney’s Office, the Hidalgo County Sherriff’s office, and the Weslaco Police Department will work with Mujeres Unidas to “Improve safety for clients,” said Genesis Gonzalez, community education program coordinator at Mujeres Unidas
Gonzalez said “So, the High-Risk Team is several organizations, several entities working together to try to figure out what’s happening in specific cases so we could improve responses. We could improve safety for clients. What are red flags that we need to be aware of? Kind of like doing a deep investigation about these cases and what they have similar and how they’re able to improve services overall for clients and how we could end violence.”
Mujeres Unidas operates in McAllen, providing a safe space for anyone who has experienced a form of domestic abuse or sexual assault.
“And, we have a variety of services, like legal counseling, the Men Against Violence program, the Rape Crisis center, legal advocacy, which they’re not lawyers, but they do help understand, help clients understand the process of the court, their rights, legal options.” Gonzalez said.
Founded in 1978, by a small group of volunteers, the original Mujeres Unidas shelter had only two bedrooms.
Ten years later, a new shelter was built in an undisclosed location and can hold up to 45 beds. According to Gonzalez, Mujeres Unidas shelter is the only shelter specifically for those who’ve experienced a form of domestic abuse and sexual assault in Hidalgo County.
Mujeres Unidas has two locations with their main building at 511 North Cynthia Street or their satellite location at 420 North 21st Street in McAllen
The phone number for their main building is (956)-630-4878, and their satellite building is (956)-664-2826.
