Denton County Friends of the Family and the Fight to Thrive

In 1971, in London, England, a shelter called Chiswick Woman’s Aid, “the first widely publicized shelter for battered women,” was cofounded by Erin Pizzey. She went on a lecture circuit advocating for battered women and bringing the issue of domestic violence into the public’s consciousness. Then in 1974, she published a book titled Scream Quietly or the Neighbors Will Hear. By 1976, a law was passed “giving broader protection to women” in England, after actions that were taken by Pizzey, activists, and “sympathetic politicians” resulted in “British parliamentary committees” investigating the issue of domestic violence. Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, in the United States, there was a movement that formed in response to the social problem of domestic violence. It was The Battered Women’s Movement.

The rise of the movement coincided with the establishment of the first battered women’s shelters, in the US. Rainbow Retreat, considered to be the first, opened its doors in 1973, in Phoenix, Arizona. Other shelters opened in the years that followed. Haven House, in 1974, in Pasadena, California, La Casa de las Madres, in 1976, in San Francisco, California, in 1976, and Transition House, also in 1976, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The response to this issue in the US “focused on the provision of shelter and crisis services,” and it was those initial efforts that became templates for how to move forward with addressing domestic violence at the grass-roots level. This was a pioneer feminist movement which led to pioneer shelters for battered women and their children. Serendipitously, this all would lead to one social work pioneer opening a shelter for women escaping domestic violence, in North Texas.

In 1976, that pioneer earned her master’s degree in Social Work from Stony Brook University. After that, she moved to Texas. From there, she would not only found a refuge for those escaping harm, she would also go on to revolutionize how survivors of domestic violence are served, and how helping people like them is taught in colleges and universities across the country. That pioneering social worker is Dr. Fran Danis, and the shelter she established was Denton County Friends of the Family.

Beginnings

Located in Denton, Texas, Denton County Friends of the Family was founded in the fall of 1980. In the beginning, the shelter was a 900 square foot house that sheltered up to 8 women and 1 child. It had 2 employees, an executive director and counselor, and 32 volunteers. They got their funding from contract with the City of Denton, and private donations. Children’s services for clients were limited, and their crisis hotline was completely volunteer staffed. Within 3 years the shelter had become a Denton County United Way agency. They received multiple grants from multiple departments within the State of Texas. They were also able to serve 271 clients, after increasing the shelter’s square footage to 4,400 feet.

By 1988, after a few years of growth, “the Family Thrift Shop” was “opened to provide needed items to clients and raise needed revenue.” Prior to that, however, the agency initiated their batterer’s program. Initially going by the name of Violence Intervention and Prevention, the Battering Intervention and Prevention Program (BIPP) counsels batterers to “stop the cycle of relationship violence.” The following year, in 1989, along with the professionalization of their Rape Crisis Program, the agency started their Parenting, Homemaking, and Children’s Services Outreach programs. 

With growth came growing pains, however. The agency was hit with a budget crisis which led to a massive cut in their annual budget. Their outreach facility which had moved into a six-room office, a year prior, had “moved to a space donated by Denton Regional Medical Center.” “Wise County services were provided out of Denton facilities.” The agency couldn’t offer raises, and “positions were consolidated through attrition.”

After bouncing back in 1990, the agency’s budget made way for the funding of their programs. Shelter renovations were made possible through funding from Hoblitzelle Foundation donations, and a block grant from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. Then, once renovations were completed in 1992, 28 children and adults and 6 infants were able to be sheltered.

In the summer of 2002, after more than 2 years of collaboration with “the Children’s Advocacy Center, Texas Attorney General’s Office, Denton Regional and Trinity Medical Centers, Denton County Law Enforcement, and Denton County District Attorney,” the agency initiated their Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program. This program takes a “team approach” to collecting “appropriate forensics evidence” and providing “the standard of care for the sexual assault patient.” 2018 saw the start of their Transitional Housing Program. This program provides “support and housing stability to domestic violence and sexual assault victims.” Their budget also grew significantly. It was aimed at “the growing demand for services in the county.” This is because the agency is “the sole provider” of shelter and free outreach services to people to people “affected by relationship violence and/or sexual assault” in Denton County. 

Since 2019, the agency continues to employ “over 70 staff employees and over 600 volunteers yearly.” DCFOF “looks forward to increased awareness” of their services, because it’s going to take help from our community to “end the generational cycle of violence.” “Spread the word that DCFOF exists!” the agency said in an email response regarding how people can help beyond volunteering and donating. “Spread the word that domestic and sexual violence are real and prevalent in this community.”

While the City of Denton has continued to annually financially support DCFOF, they have also used their platform to spread the word about the agency. In October 2021, they read a proclamation “in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month that was broadcast live via Zoom for residents to watch. They also used their marquee at the corner of Bell/McKinney streets to share our crisis line and website information for anyone who might be in need of help.” Another thing that the City did was partner “with DCFOF in a grant application” for “nearly $1million” from the United States Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women that would help fund the agency.

The Founder

Denton County Friends of the Family was founded by Dr. Fran Danis. Her work focused on the development of coordinated community services that address sexual and domestic violence, specifically. She was a community organizer and advocate whose actions led to one of the first domestic abuse survivor’s shelters in Texas being established. Before leaving the agency in 1984, she was its executive director. While there, she “served 6 years on the board of the Texas Council on Family Violence, including 5 years as the chair.” 

Afterward, she moved to Austin, Texas where she “lobbied Texas legislature on social work issues.” Her studies would continue, also. She studied resilience of “domestic abuse survivors and their adult daughters,” the “self-efficacy of service providers to maintain competent services for domestic violence survivors and other crime victims,” “collegiate sororities and relationship violence,” “coordinated community response to crime victims,” “services to sexual assault survivors,” and “effective and culturally sensitive services.” Dr. Danis would go on to accomplish a lot, in the field of social work, a great deal of which was groundbreaking.

In 2000, Dr. Danis received her doctoral degree from the Case Western Reserve University Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences after defending “her dissertation on Social Work Response to Domestic Violence.” “Research provided evidence that social work education increased the self-efficacy of practitioners to respond to abused clients.” Dr. Danis taught at the University of Missouri- Columbia, where she taught several courses and co-founded a “campus domestic and sexual violence council,” which led to DOJ funding for on-campus relationship violence programs. While in Missouri, she conducted research in “hospital response to sexual assault victims,” and found that hospitals billed “rape victims for conducting forensic rape exams.” Her work led to that practice being banned and funding for rape exams being provided by the state.

She pioneered “overlapping fields of violence against women and crime victim assistance. This included “direct practice, policy advocacy, curriculum development, training, and research and evaluation.” Her academic work led to “changes in state policies and numerous publications.” One publication that she went on to write Domestic Violence Intersectionality and Culturally Competent Practice, which was published in 2010.

She gained a national reputation that has led to her “course syllabus on domestic violence being the blueprint for other social work educators” initiating courses on violence against women “at various institutions.” From there, she taught the University of Staten Island’s (CUNY) “first course on intimate partner violence.” In recent years, she’s founded consulting firm that specializes in “research and evaluation for gender justice.” She’s involved in a project “evaluating an online Human Trafficking Emergency Housing app and working as a consultant on a National Institute of Justice-funded project to uncover violence against women in the oil patch of North Dakota.”

The Agency

Kathleen J. Tierney of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) wrote a journal article that was published in a 1982 issue of Social Problems. The article was titled The Battered Women’s Movement and the Creation of the Wife Beating Problem. The author cites that domestic violence began receiving government and media attention due to a rising social movement in the 1970s called the Battered Women’s Movement. Tierney stated in her article that in May 1978, the United States “Department of Labor instructed regional administrators to direct local governments to find programs for battered women under Titles I, II, and VI of the Comprehensive Employment Training Act (US Commission on Civil Rights).” 

Between 1975 and 1978, over “170 shelters opened in the United States.” The movement for battered women was, at that time, viewed as a movement against domestic violence. It was composed of various people from different backgrounds, a “variety of organizations,” and had “complex patterns of support.” Through organization, agitation, and collective action, feminist organizations and their supporters were able to establish shelters, resources, and crisis services across the country.

By 1978, “the US Commission on Civil Rights named over 300 shelters, hotlines, and groups,” that advocated for battered women alongside “the police, the courts, and housing and public assistance agencies.” “Mental health and social services organizations” aided in efforts to raise public consciousness, and directly combat domestic violence. Funding for groups in the fight against domestic violence came from many entitles. Churches, the YWCA, the US Department of Labor, local fundraising campaigns, and individual fundraising projects all helped fund these groups and their efforts.

By 1980, special legal provisions for cases of domestic violence were in place, in 45 states and Washington, D.C. This broadened “protections for battered women by increasing criminal penalties for battery,” and “strengthening civil protections.” This also made “it easier for women to file charges against their assailants.” Prior to the broadening of protections, it was “practically impossible” for wives to file criminal charges against their husbands “in all but the most brutal and flagrant cases.”

 “The list of challenges can be endless and varies survivor to survivor, depending on their own situation and needs,” said the agency. “Safety, housing, employment, transportation, civil legal matters are some of the most common challenges.” While there is a structure in place, by way of the programs and resources that are offered by the agency, every person is different. All of us have different needs. However, through teamwork and coordination, we find success in our efforts to help and be helped. There are specialists at the agency who are available to provide much-needed services which people are seeking for themselves or others. 

DCFOF’s website provides detailed information for people who are interested in learning about what the agency has to offer. The website also features resources that provide you the opportunity to educate yourself about forms of abuse and the warning signs. The agency also has partnerships with the University of North Texas (UNT), Texas Woman’s University (TWU), and North Central Texas College (NCTC).

"Have knowledge, will travel" is our Community Engagement team's philosophy,” the agency said when asked about the work that it does outside of Denton County. “We get many requests to provide trainings out of county. A survivor does not have to reside in Denton County to receive our services. We have staff who are keynotes and presenters at statewide conferences on a yearly basis. We also train other interested agencies in Texas on our ADVANCE Program.”

Calls for Help

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence said that “On one day in 2020, domestic violence shelters in Texas served 5,950 victims of domestic violence and received 1,563 hotline calls. 948 requests for services on this day were unmet due to a lack of resources.” By the end of 2020, “32 domestic violence misdemeanor convictions” and 0 “domestic violence protective orders” were submitted to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS Index) by the state of Texas. Nationwide, domestic violence hotlines receive over 19,000 calls per day. In 2020, in a single day, “domestic violence hotlines received 21,321 calls, an average of almost 15 calls every minute.”

For DCFOF, despite seeing “a slight decline” in their numbers, in 2020, the demand for their services “tends to increase year to year.” When it comes to what is most requested, in terms of services, DCFOF said, “Most requests are for safety - shelter, protective order(s), etc., or counseling.” In 2020, “2,255 new clients” did intakes, at the agency. That’s 6 new clients per day. They also took 2,932 calls to their crisis line, or 8 calls per day. They also received “157 texts to the crisis line.” That averages out to 3 texts per week. While these numbers represent a slight decline in requests for services, for the agency, they did say “we anticipate numbers have jumped back up.” 

Echoes

Denton County Public Health (DCPH) defines domestic violence as “abuse that happens in a personal relationship.” Beyond that definition, DCPH goes on to say that “It can happen between past or current partners, spouses, boyfriends and girlfriends. Domestic violence affects men and women of any ethnic group, race, or religion, gay or straight, rich or poor, teen, adult, and elderly. But most of its victims are women. In fact, 1 out of 4 women will be a victim at some point.”

Be it here in Denton, across the county, state of Texas or the country, or around the world, no community is immune from domestic violence and sexual assault or their impact. It affects all people from all demographics. Its consequences affect multiple generations of people. Its aftershocks can be felt over the span of someone’s life. It can cause physical injury, psychological trauma, and death.

The effects of the Battered Women’s Movement can still be seen, today. The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence was a product of the US Commission on Civil Rights 1978 national conference on policy issues regarding domestic violence. In her article, Tierney also went on to mention the role of media attention in the creation of a social problem. Specifically, when it came to identifying domestic violence as an issue of public concern. Within 10 year of the movement’s mobilization, domestic violence had gone from being “a subject of private shame and misery to the object of public concern.” Today, it provides an example of how “social movements can construct a social problem and successfully mobilize resources.”

Victims of domestic violence were identified as people that need a specific “range of services,” and resources. Material support for groups and advocates that support survivors have been mobilized. Community-based organizations, government agencies, and task forces are making efforts to provide support, and laws have been passed in attempts to broaden protections.

Despite the movement’s successes, however, the inherent structure of law enforcement is ill equipped to deal with issues and people that need specific support and services. The values that are reflected within the act of gender-based violence, are those values which are held within the structure of policing. The same can be argued for those political institutions which we appeal to so that they may protect us and our society’s most vulnerable. If certain laws which are in place to protect us did so, we wouldn’t have to build a case and go into a courthouse in order to prove that those laws actually do protect us. That’s why community-based organizations do the work necessary to make up for what is lacking in terms of state services provisions.

DCFOF is part of that impact made by the movement. The agency provides services and programs that give people a chance to reacquire what’s been taken from them. For example, stalker ware is relatively new to some of us, when it comes to the broader conversation about domestic and intimate partner violence and abuse. In contrast, the agency says “This isn't really anything super new to the victims we serve. As part of all safety planning with our clients and callers, we have a whole list of protocols we go through we go through with folks to help ensure their tech safety as much as possible.”

Testimonials from those who have been served by the agency make it clear that with the right combination of support and resources, survivors are able to get their lives back on track and begin to thrive. This not only applies to those survivors who have been helped, but it applies to their children as well. The impact of this organization reaches far beyond the individual. It affects the whole of the community. Someone who’s made a large, positive impact on another person’s life or that of several other people may have been someone who received services from DCFOF. Sometimes, when we intend to make ripples, we wind up making waves. And those waves can echo for many years to come.

If you or someone need help dealing with domestic violence or sexual assault, click here for DCFOF crisis line information.

If you would like to volunteer, click here.

To donate, click here.

Sources:

Denton County Friends of the Family

Denton County Friends of the Family. Denton County Friends of the Family, Homepage.  https://www.dcfof.org/ .

Denton County Friends of the Family. Denton County Friends of the Family, About Us. https://www.dcfof.org/about-us .

Denton County Friends of the Family. Denton County Friends of the Family, Our Founder. https://www.dcfof.org/our-founder .

Denton County Friends of the Family, Denton County Friends of the Family, Battery Intervention Program. https://www.dcfof.org/batteringintervention .

Denton County Friends of the Family, Denton County Friends of the Family, Thrift Store. https://www.dcfof.org/thriftstore .

Denton County Friends of the Family, Denton County Friends of the Family, Transitional Housing Program. https://www.dcfof.org/transitional-housing-program .

Denton County Friends of the Family. Dr. Fran Danis #HerStory https://www.dcfof.org/dr-fran-danis .

Email Interview Responses on January 4, 2022.

Kathleen J. Tierney

Tierney, K. J. (1982). The Battered Women Movement and the Creation of the Wife Beating Problem. Social Problems, 29(3), 207–220. https://doi.org/10.2307/800155 .

Denton County Public Health (DCPH)

https://denton.tx.networkofcare.org/ph/library/article.aspx?hwid=te7721 .

Riverside County

Riverside County Office on Aging (2021). Haven House. https://riverside.networkofcare.org/aging/services/agency.aspx?print=1&pid=HAVENHOUSE_38_1_0#SkipToContent .

La Casa de las Madres

La Casa de las Madres. La Casa de las Madres, homepage. https://www.lacasa.org/ .

Transition House

Transition House. Transition House, homepage. https://www.transitionhouse.org/ .

National Coalition Against Domestic Violence

National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Domestic Violence in Texas. https://assets.speakcdn.com/assets/2497/texas-2021101912193436.pdf .

National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Domestic Violence. https://assets.speakcdn.com/assets/2497/domestic_violence-2020080709350855.pdf?1596828650457 .

The Cross Timbers Gazette

Staff, C. T. G. (2021, October 8). Denton County Friends of the Family Announces Major Grant to Stop Violence against Women. Retrieved January 11, 2022, from https://www.crosstimbersgazette.com/2021/10/08/denton-county-friends-of-the-family-announces-major-grant-to-stop-violence-against-women/. 

Alliance for Hope International

Bondy, H. (2020, July 17). Stalkerware: The invisible threat faced by domestic abuse victims. Retrieved January 11, 2022, from https://www.familyjusticecenter.org/stalkerware-the-invisible-threat-faced-by-domestic-abuse-victims/. 

CNET

Hautala, L. (2020, June 4). Stalkerware: What to do if you're the target. CNet. Retrieved January 11, 2022, from https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/stalkerware-what-to-know-when-youre-the-target/.