The Colusa County Board of Supervisors has authorized an application for grant funding to move forward with a domestic violence program and shelter named after murder victim Karen Garcia.
Investigators said Karen was killed on Jan 8, 2018 in the Colusa apartment she had shared with her boyfriend, Salvador Vaca Garcia, Jr., shortly after the couple broke up – the most dangerous time for women who are in abusive relationships, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Garcia Jr., the lone suspect in the homicide, was on the run for well over a year before his arrest by the U.S. Marshals Service in Mexico and turned over to local law enforcement on Aug. 4. He is being held without bail in the Colusa County Jail.
Karens House founder and president Tootie Hackett said Karens family is overjoyed that Garcia, Jr. was finally caught and will face his accusers in court, and that efforts to establish a domestic violence program shelter in Colusa County in Karens memory will live on.
” I spoke with Anna (Karens mother) soon after the news broke,” Hackett said Monday. ” She said the tears will not stop and thanked everybody that kept this active in the news.
Before Karen was killed, the 21-year-old mother of a 2-year-old girl reportedly suffered domestic abuse at the hands of her partner. It was a secret her friends said Karen was keeping up until Garcia Jr. was arrested on a domestic battery charge just after Christmas in 2017.
After her death, Karens friends worked to build Karens House, a non-profit domestic violence program in Colusa County to help victims and survivors of abuse.
Hackett said the group has held numerous fundraisers and has received one $10,000 grant already to provide resources to victims.
The Colusa County Board of Supervisors last week asked the California Department of Housing and Community Development for $90,348, which, if awarded, would come from funding under the Federal Emergency Solutions Grants Program.
” This is the emergency shelter grant that we applied for on behalf of – and in partnership – with Karens House to help develop temporary housing for domestic violence survivors and hopefully give them a site,” said Colusa County Health and Human Services Director Elizabeth Kelly. ” If this grant is approved by the state, that is what those dollars would be for.
Colusa County would be required to match the grant 100 percent, but county officials said in-kind services and use of county facilities could be considered.
” It doesnt have to be cash,” said Chairman of the Board Kent Boes.
The goal of Karens House is to provide shelter to victims and their children, in addition to offering services such as mental health, education, support, counseling, wellness recovery, and co-parenting education.
” This has been such a grassroots effort,” Kelly said. ” Theyve really come a long way, but they are needing more help. They dont have the funding to build an actual structure or even find a structure.
If the grant is awarded, it will not only will provide Karens House with a temporary shelter for domestic abuse victims, but county staff will help Karens House develop plans for the a comprehensive domestic violence program in Colusa County that honors Karen Garcias memory.
A paint night fundraiser will be held at 6 PM on Aug. 20 for Karens House at Granzellas Banquet Hall, in Williams. All materials will be provided. The cost is $45 per person with proceeds helping Karens House break the silence and stop the violence.
Contact Hackett at 701-4310. –
