HONOR A MAN IN YOUR LIFE WITH A FATHER'S DAY DONATION

Fathers Day is nearly upon us. It's the perfect time to celebrate the man in your life who taught you about healthy love!  Thousands of men make a daily stand against domestic violence, simply by setting a loving example at home; honor the ones you know today by making a donation to Texas Advocacy Project.  Visit http://www.texasadvocacyproject.org/.  While you're there if you would like to share an example of the healthy love you were shown simply drop us a line at info@texasadvocacyproject.org.  We will compile a list of the sentiments and load them on our website during the month of July (space permitting) for our supporters to view. 

LEGISLATIVE SESSION SEES GAINS FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIMS

As we entered June, the 80th Texas Legislature completed its work and adjourned until January 2009.   We want to highlight and share with you a few outcomes of the session that directly affect our work here at Texas Advocacy Project.  We also want to thank the Texas Council on Family Violence (TCFV) for all of their hard work protecting the rights of domestic violence victims in Texas.

First from Appropriations:

$48 million + has been earmarked for family violence services in the Health and Human Services Commission budget for 2008-09. This is a $2 million increase over the current biennium. Additionally, $2.5 million worth of financial support will come from Battering Intervention and Prevention Project (BIPP) services of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice budget for 2008-09. This is the same as the current biennium.

A sample of noteworthy Bills from the TCFV Legislative Agenda are:

House Bill 121 was signed into law by Governor Perry.  This bill covers school dating violence policies aimed at making schools safer for students.  The bill mandates that school districts adopt a dating violence policy that among other things defines dating violence and addresses safety planning enforcement.  HB 550 passed both houses and was sent to Governor Perry for his signature. House Bill 550 addresses the eligibility of certain family violence victims to file for unemployment compensation.  The intent of the bill is to protect employees' compensation when they have to leave work to protect themselves from family violence or stalking.

Again, we want to thank TCFV for everything they did to make this legislative session a success.  To view a more complete list of the legislative agenda and to learn more about the work of TCFV, visit their website at http://www.tcfv.org.

NEW LEGAL DIRECTOR BRINGS APPELLATE EXPERIENCE
Texas Advocacy Project welcomes Annette Lamoreaux as our new Legal Director. Annette received her law degree from Loyola Law School and her undergrad at Princeton University. Most recently she has served as the Director of Legal Advocacy Programs for the Houston NAACP.  It was there that she worked as a branch manager and supervisor for a weekly civil legal clinic for low-income clients.  In addition, Ms. Lamoreaux worked within a federally funded direct services program specializing in services for HIV positive clients.  Prior to her work at the NAACP, Ms. Lamoreaux served as Legal Director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut.  Besides supervising a legal program composed of over 8,500 members, Ms. Lamoreaux made frequent public speaking and television appearances in order to promote civil liberties locally.

“As an appellate lawyer, Annette brings invaluable experience to our team,” says Andrea Sloan, Executive Director of Texas Advocacy Project.  Appellate cases are how we change the system and make our society safer for women and other potential victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking.”

As Texas Advocacy Project begins its 25th year of service, we are pleased to continue the tradition of welcoming brilliant and dedicated public servants to its team.  Please visit www.texasadvocacyproject.org to learn more about our programs and ways you can support our mission.  Please visit http://www.texasadvocacyproject.org/ to learn more about our programs and ways you can support our mission.

family violence legal line

800-374-hope (Statewide)

512-476-5770 (In Austin)

family law hotline

800-777-fair (Statewide)

512-476-1866 (In Austin)

sexual assault legal hotline

888-296-safe (Statewide)

512-225-9290 (In Austin)

technical advocacy hotline

888-325-safe (Statewide)

512-476-5386 (In Austin)