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Professionals push for awareness of resources following tragic murder

Independence is helping domestic violence victims
Posted at 5:48 PM, Feb 09, 2017
and last updated 2017-02-09 19:18:12-05

Countless people in Independence are still trying to cope with the horrific killing of Yadira Gomez.

Police and professionals have not only reached out to help the Gomez family and her children, but they are also pushing harder to raise awareness regarding the resources available to victims of domestic violence.

Gomez was stabbed to death by her husband, Vicente Roldan-Marron, January 30. Their three children were witnesses.

Now, those close to the case want to stress how they can help victims of domestic abuse before it's too late.

"We have outreach counseling, a court advocacy program, we have a supervised visitation program, we have three contract attorneys. So there's more than a shelter that we offer that we're finding people are getting into our resources," said Ilene Shehan of Hope House in Independence.

Independence police immediately connect victims of domestic violence with Hope House. It's a safe haven for victims of domestic violence who also provide several resources.

After last week's murder, they're looking further into gaps that may be in the system in order to prevent more tragedies.

"Where did we miss this person? So that next time we wouldn't miss somebody else,"'said Shehan. 

The Hope House COO said it's not uncommon for domestic abusers to move to different cities so that local police aren't aware of their old confrontations. Shehan would like to see a universal system to make it easier for police departments to recognize potential deadly situations before they occur.

However, Shehan is thrilled that Independence police work with Hope House directly, even on domestic calls.

John Syme, public information officer with Independence police, told 41 Action News they connect domestic violence victims with hope house immediately on calls when needed, especially if the abuser has been arrested.

"They're gonna be out. They're gonna get out of jail, out of detention. But we want that victim to be away from that person," said Syme.

Once Independence police respond to a possible domestic violence situation, they are specifically trained to initiate a lethality assessment - a set of questions asked to the victim to help determine the severity of danger they may be in. If they score high, they are connected on the phone immediately with Hope House to start arranging resources.

Independence police also have a "mandatory arrest" protocol in place, which means they will arrest an abuser based on probable cause and do not need an official complaint from the victim.

Hope House says victims are 75 percent more likely to be killed while leaving an abusive situation.

If your or anyone you know needs help, the Hope House hotline number is 816-461-4673. 

 

 

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Josh Helmuth can be reached at josh.helmuth@kshb.com

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