Austin American-Statesman: Austin lands federal grant aimed at helping curb domestic violence deaths

Austin Public Health's Office of Violence Prevention has received a $500,000 federal grant aimed at trying to reduce deaths by domestic violence and reduce the use of guns to injure or intimidate victims.

"A recent Texas report indicates that domestic abuse is five times more like to result in death in homes where guns are present,” said Austin Public Health Director Adrienne Sturrup. “This is a step toward a healthier community free of injury or death by firearms."

The grant's mission will be implemented by the Office of Violence Prevention as well as Travis County and SAFE Alliance, a local nonprofit that works with victims of abuse.

Many of the logistical details are preliminary, but the Office of Violence Prevention plans to hire a coordinator to implement the program. The key parts of the program will be to create a protocol for people accused of or convicted of abuse to surrender their firearms.

“A county-wide firearm surrender protocol will ensure that those at high risk of committing gun violence surrender their weapons, and that will make our community safer,” said Travis County District Attorney José Garza. “This is an essential first step in establishing a standard set of rules to help prosecutors, law enforcement, and advocates keep guns out of high-risk situations.”

Last fall, the district attorney's office implemented a similar program with the Precinct 5 Travis County Constable. In that program, assistant district attorneys ask judges before a person is released from jail if they have or have access to firearms. If the answer is yes, instead of surrendering those firearms to a family member, as had been done in the past, the judge orders the person to surrender the firearms to the constable. If they violated that order, they would have their bond revoked or modified.

Under this grant program, a more coordinated effort with law enforcement across the county will be developed.

With the grant, Austin will be one of six new sites to participate in the Firearms Technical Assistance Project expansion. Tucson, Arizona; Detroit, Michigan; Yakima, Washington; the Georgia Department of Community Supervision; and the YWCA of Knoxville and the Tennessee Valley were also chosen as grant recipients.

Through the grant, the Office of Violence Prevention will receive technical support to implement strategies to prevent the use of firearms in domestic violence. It also will be participating in the national Community Violence Intervention Collaborative, which will allow the office to learn from other programs and share information with people working in the domestic violence space.

The Office of Violence Prevention will be working locally with community partners, specifically organizations that work with underserved populations, as well as government bodies working in this space.

“The SAFE Alliance knows that when government and community work together, lives are saved,” said SAFE Executive Director Julia Spann. “This new program will make sure that survivors of every culture and color are at the table to ensure our new protocols serve everyone in our community.”

Partnerships already have been identified with the Austin Travis County Family Task Force; the Travis County Sheriff’s Office; Austin Police Department, including the Victim Services Division; Office of Police Oversight; City of Austin Law Department, Civil Rights Office, and Equity Office; Travis County District Attorney’s Office; Domestic Violence High Risk Team; Travis County Counseling and Education Services; and the SAFE Alliance.

“These federal funds will help create and implement policies for reducing gun crime and promoting safety for some of the most vulnerable families in our community,” said U.S. Congressman Lloyd Doggett. “These dollars support the important work that the Office of Violence Prevention and its partners are doing locally to reduce deadly incidents of domestic violence and to keep guns out of the hands of abusers.”