Down the Rabbit Hole

In December 2023, after three decades in office and as the longest-serving member of the Texas Senate, Senator Judith Zaffirini became the first-ever woman elected as Dean of the Senate! However, this was not her first time breaking new ground, as she was also the first-ever Mexican-American woman to become a senator in Texas.

Incredibly, Senator Zaffirini is also an award-winning communications specialist and Vice-Chair of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources & Economic Development (and more!), and she joins us today to unpack the great work she’s done in her decades-long service to the people of Texas. Senator Zaffirini explains what motivated her to run for office, why she remains persistent to persevere in this work, why she reveres her close relationship with survivors and other constituents, and the standout achievements from her esteemed career.

We learn about her methods for ensuring that her bills are passed, how she navigates her daily challenges, what elected officials in Texas need to be doing more of for survivors, how to improve the quality of community engagement (even without a vote), and why young voices are the ones that matter the most. To end, we explore Texas’ prevention angle, how gender roles in public office have evolved, how motherhood made Senator Zaffirini a better senator and leader, how she became an honorary nun, and her parting words of wisdom for listeners.

This podcast explores topics of intimate partner violence, abuse, and other forms of trauma. As you are listening, please do so with care.

This podcast explores topics of homicide, intimate partner violence, abuse, and other forms of trauma. As you are listening, please do so with care and take a break if you need it.

For this year’s Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month (SAAPM), we are so excited to welcome our friends from the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault (TAASA) onto the show for the very first time! We’re going to talk about our strongest food opinions yet with Megan Perkins and Madison Jackson, and more importantly, they are going to share all of the amazing things TAASA has planned for April. Megan and Madison join us in discussion around the relationship between prevention and awareness, why it’s important that both of our organizations exist and can work together, plus offer some helpful resources linked below.

TAASA Resources

Sexual Violence in Texas – Fact Sheet

nsvrc

Denim Day

I Ask for Consent

Turn Texas Teal: Empowerment Playlist!

RAINN

PreventConnect

Disability Justice, Violence Prevention, and Abolitionism Curriculum

My Rights My Life

While we may focus our efforts on young people, there is support and education for survivors across the lifespan. Jamie Wright had degrees behind her name and had reared adult children by the time she found herself in crisis. Today, she is a survivor who speaks, advocating for others experiencing and recovering from domestic abuse. She joins the conversation today to share her story, along with insights from her research in her hometown in Southeast Oklahoma. We discuss prevention and accountability for adults and how Jamie’s story breaks the mold of preconceived ideas about what a survivor looks like. Jamie reveals what is behind her commitment to giving a voice to those who cannot use their voice, and we delve deeper into the misconceptions about survivors that sometimes prevent them from accessing the support they need. Join us today to hear all this and more.

During this episode, our guest shares the details of her experiences as a survivor. Please listen with care.

https://jamierwright.com/

TW: This podcast explores topics of intimate partner violence, abuse, and other forms of trauma. Please listen with care.

For this year’s Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, we wanted to take a closer look at social media and dating violence relationships, and how the two intersect and overlap. Today we are joined by two members of our TCFV Prevention team– Lalitha and Viv. Together with today’s hosts Samantha and William, our guests describe their first experience of social media, how the platforms and the way we use social media have evolved, how social media breeds entitlement and impacts relationships, and an assessment of the dangers of being online. We also take a closer look at how abuse manifests on social media, how to set yourself up for safer online experiences, the role of caretakers in supporting their dependents who are on social media, and our hosts and guests all weigh-in with some practical and advice for how to navigate social media while in a relationship

This podcast explores topics of intimate partner violence, abuse, and other forms of trauma. If you are listening, please do so with care and step away if you need to.

Welcome back to Down the Rabbit Hole and Happy New Year! To kick off 2024, we’ll be speaking about economic justice and how it pertains to immigrant survivors. We are joined by our wonderful colleague, Lauren Lluveras, who is the Immigration & Economic Justice Policy Manager here at TCFV. Lauren shares how she defines economic justice as well as what it can mean to truly thrive. We discuss why economic justice is important for the movement against domestic violence, how money influences relationships, the many vulnerabilities that immigrant survivors face, and how community support is a vital resource for immigrant survivors.

Coerced Debt

Accounting for Survivors’ Economic Security Atlas: Mapping the Terrain

Immigration & Survivor Resources

SB4

If you have any questions about this episode, please email us at [email protected]

This podcast explores topics of homicide, intimate partner violence, abuse, and other forms of trauma. As you are listening, please do so with care and take a break if you need it.

Released in October 2023, Honoring Texas Victims (HTV) reveals Texas' intimate partner fatality statistics from 2022 and share the victims' stories. Today, we are joined by two of its compilers and TCFV Support to Service Providers team members, Mikisha Hooper and Sarah Hilderbrand. They are here to share their findings from HTV 2022 and to discuss further actions for violence prevention in Texas. Mikisha and Sarah explain why leaving a relationship is a treacherous period for victims of abuse, how the age ranges of intimate partner abuse perpetrators reveal just how dire the situation is, why we need to stop using age to deflect the real truth, and all the details relating to firearms that can be found in HTV 2022. We also explore the responsibility of law enforcement, the challenges of identifying prohibited gun possessors, the importance of accountability, and some things TCFV is doing to raise awareness of violence prevention in Texas.

You can find links to the 2022 report, fact sheets, and narratives here: https://tcfv.org/publications/.

If you have any questions about this episode or the HTV report, please email us at [email protected].

Although the holidays often are and can be a time of joy for many, they can also come with a lot of discomfort and unique challenges for survivors of domestic violence. During this episode, we are joined by Tracy Stebbins and Mickinze VanHerpen with Grayson Crisis Center. They share their insights on how to best prepare for the holiday season, support survivors, and take care of ourselves as advocates. Join us as we unpack the many layers of safety planning, including offering support around what it means to be safe, harm reduction, and the needs that come along with being in a rural area and a small town.

Safety Planning Resources:

https://vawnet.org/sites/default/files/assets/files/2016-11/TAGuidance-DVHolidays2011.pdf

https://www.thecenteronline.org/2021/12/14/when-the-holidays-arent-happy-managing-dv-and-its-impacts/

https://www.thehotline.org/resources/safety-planning-for-the-holidays/

https://www.workplacesrespond.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Safe-for-the-Holidays-12.2021-FINAL.pdf

https://www.hhs.texas.gov/news/2021/11/domestic-violence-resources-available-during-holidays

https://www.rainn.org/articles/safety-planning

Join the TCFV crew as we cover various topics and how they intersect with gender-based violence. This episode will feature Deb Butts, our Finance Manager, and Ryan Thomas, our Grants Writer, as they discuss some of the basics as well as the more nuanced, and sometimes confusing, pieces of Finance and Grants within family violence programs.

Federal Funding Sources for Family Violence Centers & BIPPS:

https://tcfv.org/wp-content/uploads/tcfv_federal_funding_sources_flowchart_2021.pdf

Bookkeeping Toolkit:

https://tcfv.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Nuts-and-Bolts-of-Bookkeeping-A-Toolkit_Complete_v3.pdf

This year TCFV celebrates its 45th anniversary! For today’s conversation, we are joined by TCFV’s most-tenured staff member, Maria Jose Angelelli, Director of Support to Service Providers. She has been part of the organization for 40 years, so what better person to host for our 45th birthday conversation? We talk about all about Maria’s TCFV career journey from volunteer to program director, and then she shares the story of how TCFV came to be and the growth and development she has witnessed over the years. You’ll also learn about the history of communication within our organization, how the COVID-19 pandemic altered the way in which we do things, how the mission has evolved over the years, and what Maria hopes to see in the future, plus so much more. Lastly, we remind you October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and to check in with your local program(s) and see what they’ve got going on for DVAM and how you can get involved this month and throughout the rest of the year. Thanks for listening!

Please note that this episode talks about the Domestic Violence Movement, so listen with care.

Here are some of the resources mentioned in this episode:

Texas Council on Family Violence (TCFV)

TCFV: A History (pdf version)

The Myers-Tucker-Angelelli Archives⁠

National Domestic Violence Hotline

If you have any questions about this episode, please email us at [email protected].

Welcome to season four of Down the Rabbit Hole! October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM), and today, October 11th, is Health Cares About Domestic Violence Day. Often healthcare workers are ill-equipped to deal with the nuances that come with treating survivors or dealing with domestic violence situations. So today, we’ve called upon Cathy Glenn to discuss the importance of educating medical professionals on standards of providing detailed care that survivors of abuse so desperately need. After previous experience as an emergency trauma nurse, Cathy is now the Injury Prevention Trauma Outreach Coordinator at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, Dallas. Her passion extends to partnering on issues relating to family violence and its intersection with healthcare. She explains why it’s so important for healthcare workers to beef up their knowledge on domestic violence, why she only learned about domestic violence in the ER after already graduating from nursing school, and how the opportunities for violence prevention and intervention in healthcare extend far beyond the emergency room and trauma unit. We also discuss some red flags for telling when someone needs help from an abusive partner, how to extend healthcare services for survivors past their initial treatment date, how to make the ER safe for medical staff, and other ways that healthcare professionals can get involved in issues of domestic violence away from the hospital. We hope you enjoy this fall-inspired, pumpkin-flavored, information-packed season four opener!

This podcast explores topics of gender-based violence, abuse, and other forms of trauma. Please take care of yourself as you listen to the episode and take breaks as needed.

For more information about Health Cares About Domestic Violence Day, check out Futures Without Violence's Action Kit.

Also check out IPVhealth.org to learn more about cultivating partnerships between advocates and healthcare professionals.

If you have any questions about this episode or if you are a health care provider looking for family violence training or collaboration opportunities, please email us at [email protected].