By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
County commissioners court members voted Wednesday to take a first step towards
establishing a local emergency children’s shelter.
County Judge Lewis G. Owens Jr. began discussion of the children’s shelter during an
update given to the court by representatives of CASA of Val Verde County, an
organization that trains volunteers to become court-appointed advocates for children in
foster care.
Owens said commissioners court has discussed a children’s shelter before. Owens said he
has spoken with the sheriff and several justices of the peace and a judge regarding the
issue and told the CASA representatives he would like them to be part of a group that
will begin examining the possibility of creating a children’s shelter.
Owens added he has been told there are 17 children from Val Verde County currently in
foster homes outside the county.
The county judge said he wanted to ask the court’s permission “to begin the discussion.”
Owens said he believes a local children’s shelter is needed and recounted a story he was
recently told about an eight-year-old boy who kept falling asleep in class. When the boy
was asked why he was so tired, it was learned that he was often up in the middle of the
night, caring for his one-year-old sister and walking the neighborhood to look for their
mother, who is a practicing drug addict.
After Owens finished the heartrending story, Andrew Pavlinski, CASA of Val Verde
County board president, commented, “It’s heartbreaking, but that’s where we come
together as a community, and I think that our long-term goal, and CASA in other regions
develop, what’s called a child advocacy center, which is a one-stop shop, for lack of a
better term, where all the services are there, including a child shelter, forensic interview
rooms, law enforcement, things like that, where the child can come there, and we bring
the services to them, whatever’s required.”
“That is a long-term vision of CASA,” Pavlinski added.
Owens reiterated he would like to get permission from the court to investigate the
possibility of establishing a children’s shelter in the local area.
After a scheduled public hearing on a zoning change request, the court continued
discussing a children’s shelter.
Owens asked Pavlinski if he believed there was a need for a children’s shelter in the local
area.
“There is absolutely a need,” Pavlinski replied, adding, “I’ll give one more anecdotal
story for you. Fourteen homeless kids across the street from St. James that leave school
on Friday hungry. Our sixth graders and third graders heard about this and took their own
action to take food over there, and they’re setting up a year-long program to help these
kids in need. The situation is very broad, so there’s absolutely a need for a children’s
shelter, temporary, long-term, a place where we can get kids fed and things like that, so
that’s just one little snippet.
“The community is stepping up,” Pavlinski added.
Owens pointed out a member of the court, Commissioner Pct. 2 Juan Carlos Vazquez,
sits on the board of the South Texas Food Bank, and the court discussed efforts to obtain
and distribute food in the community.
Pavlinski said he believed the first step is gathering together all of the agencies that can
provide services to area children in need.
The county judge added, “If the court will allow it, we will put a group together to begin
that conversation with the sheriff and with CASA, our law enforcement partners, to see
how to accomplish this and bring it back to the court.”
Owens said he has spoken with members of the Rotary Club of Del Rio, who offered
help. He said he has also spoken with representatives of local banks, including his wife
Sylvia, of Texas Community Bank, who also offered their assistance.
“Companies in our community are always willing to help,” Owens observed.
Commissioner Pct. 4 Gustavo “Gus” Flores said he wished to make a comment before the
court voted.
Flores said, “Back in 2019, I visited (Austin) and saw Sen. (Pete) Flores, and
Commissioner Vazquez was there with me, and I did petition for money for a children’s
shelter at the state level, but at the time they had no money available.
“Nick, the man that ran the Middle Rio Grande facility back then, was willing to help and
he was excited about a children’s shelter here in Val Verde County. He said we could
reach out to neighboring counties for letters of support. It’s been in my mind, a children’s
shelter, forever.
“This past year, I petitioned for $250,000 for my budget request for a children’s shelter.
I’ve got the community center. I’ve got a park, the fire department there. What I’m trying
to get to is, if we do go all the way with this, we need to find the right location for it. We
don’t want to build one in the middle of nowhere, but I’m all for it. I will support a
children’s shelter 100 percent. It’s been in my mind for many years, ever since I became
a county commissioner.
“I’ve heard a lot of stories about children being taken to Kerrville, San Antonio, and their
relatives having no way to go visit them, grandparents, uncles, but I think it’s a great
idea. We just need to find the right place for it,” Flores finished.
Pavlinksi agreed, adding the local group could look at advocacy centers in other parts of
the country and “use what works and leave what doesn’t and then bring it here so we can
keep our kids at home.”
Flores responded, “Once it’s here, it’s not just going to be an asset to Val Verde County,
it will be an asset to surrounding counties. It will not just be for Val Verde County kids,
but whoever has a need for shelter.”
“Absolutely. Right now there’s a six-county blank spot on the map that we’re collectively
trying to fill, and that’s our vision,” Pavlinski said.
Owens said, “I think the best advice that I’ve received so far is from the sheriff, and he
said, ‘You need to get all the partners in one room and before anybody starts making
decisions, to see what you actually need.’ Get everybody in a room, have that
conversation and then bring it back to the court.”
Vazquez then made a motion to allow Owens to gather the partners and begin a
conversation about a children’s shelter, with Wardlaw giving the second. The motion passed unanimously.
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com
