Project ADVANCE

We created Project Advance to work with first-time arrestees of domestic violence charges in Bexar County who were eligible for personal recognizance bond to educate them about domestic violence, promote healthy relationships, lower recidivism rates, and intervene in the cyclical nature of domestic violence within the criminal justice system. The program consisted of nine two-hour sessions focused on participants learning about their responsibilities and options with regard to stopping domestic violence, child custody, parental obligations, as survivors and/or perpetrators of domestic violence. The program went on hiatus to the COVID-19 pandemic and we hope to bring it back.

F.A.C.T. (family Assistance Crisis Teams)

While working in the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) Special Victims Unit, P.E.A.C.E. Initiative co-founder Jane Shafer helped develop a working relationship between the P.E.A.C.E. Initiative and the SAPD. After realizing people from the community wanted to be involved with addressing domestic violence, Jane created and ran the F.A.C.T. (Family Assistance Crisis Teams) volunteer program within the SAPD which trained community volunteers who then worked in police substations on select nights. From 1991 to 2017 (when Jane retired from SAPD), we provided 20 hours of training to over 2,500 volunteers who provided a listening ear, resources, and safety planning to the battered women police brought to the substation; in time, some volunteers rode with officers during their shift to be available immediately to offer services. Many of the volunteers were survivors themselves or grew up in violent homes, some were parents of daughters who had been or were being abused by their partners, a few had lost a friend or family members due to domestic violence, some were graduate students wanting field experience, most were regular citizens wanting to make a difference in the community by helping some of the most vulnerable. We continue to be inspired by their genuine care and generosity of time. The program went on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is to be resurrected in the near future. The F.A.C.T. model was replicated in Wisconsin.