By Louis Zylka
The 830 Times
A presentation was held at Tuesday’s city council meeting on the services of the Wintergarden
Women’s Shelter, Inc. in Val Verde County.
her organization at the recent council meeting. Wintergarden Women’s Shelter is a non-profit
organization providing shelter and services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.
Bustamante said she and her team are thankful to Val Verde County and the city of Del Rio for
helping their agency expand their services in the community. (Photo by Louis Zylka)
Wintergarden Women’s Shelter is a non-profit organization that currently operates the
emergency women’s shelter serving Val Verde County and providing services for victims of
domestic violence and sexual abuse. Erica Bustamante, executive director of Wintergarden
Women’s Shelter, attended Tuesday’s council meeting to talk about her organization, introduce
members of the agency who joined her at the meeting and to inform the council about the
services offered through the shelter.
Wintergarden Women’s Shelter has been in operation for 30 years and, as of January 1, 2025,
the agency has offices in Dimmit County, La Salle County, Frio County, Maverick County,
Uvalde County and Zavala County. The agency currently operates emergency shelters in Val
Verde County and in Carrizo Springs, Texas.
The other members of the agency who attended the meeting included Gloriela Lopez, shelter
supervisor; Lee Flores, program coordinator and Denysea Garcia, outreach specialist.
Bustamante gave more details about her agency and said it is a “dual service agency” providing
services for both residential and nonresidential victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.
Bustamante said her agency is bringing its sexual assault program to Val Verde County, which
she said did not exist in the past, along with a 24/7 sexual assault advocate team comprised of
Garcia and Lopez. She said they are also providing hospital accompaniment for victims of
sexual assault undergoing sexual assault exams, noting the Val Verde Regional Medical Center
has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Southwest Texas Regional
Advisory Council for a nurse to be sent to Del Rio to provide services for local victims.
“It’s all in the works,” Bustamante said. “(The agency) provides services that were not offered
here in Val Verde, and we are also the only certified sexual assault program in this region, so
we are able to provide (hospital) accompaniment. We are able to be in the exam room with the
victims if the victim requests that we be in the room with them during an exam.”
Bustamante also mentioned Wintergarden Women’s Shelter has court and law-enforcement
accompaniment, and her team has met with the victim coordinators, victim advocates and other
staff members at the Del Rio Police Department and Val Verde County Sheriff’s Office.
Bustamante mentioned they have an in-house licensed professional counselor (LPC), Christina
Villarreal, and a crisis intervention counselor, Sandra Munoz. She listed the other services her
organization provides, which include intra-agency referrals, peer support groups, outreach
specialists and MOUs with Laughlin Air Force Base and BCFS Health and Human Services.
City Attorney Ana Markowski Smith said Bustamante’s presentation about Wintergarden
Women’s Shelter was amazing, mentioning that the many services the agency offers will be a
“huge benefit to local victims.
“We’re happy to help and happy to bring all these services to Val Verde County, the city of Del
Rio and Val Verde County as a whole,” Bustamante said. “I understand that the city and the
county have come together to make sure the victims have the services they need, and so I
commend you all for that.”
After the presentation concluded, the members of Wintergarden Women’s Shelter posed for a
picture with Smith, City Manager Shawna Burkhart and Del Rio Police Department Chief Frank
Ramirez.
