Proposed domestic violence shelter in south county receives donation
A project to provide a shelter for domestic violence victims in south Yuma County recently got a boost to the tune of $53,000.
The money came in the form of a donation to the South Yuma County Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the organization seeking construction of a shelter in San Luis.
The donation comes from proceeds from the sale of a home recently built by Nieves Riedel, a San Luis developer. Riedel and her company’s subcontractors donated $50,000 from the sale, with real estate agents Gabriel Gutierrez, of RE/ MAX and Anahi Sidon, from Century 21, contributing another $3,000 from their commissions on the sale.
The money goes into a fund toward construction of a shelter that will serve victims of domestic violence occurring not only in San Luis, but Somerton, Gadsden and other areas in the south county.
Riedel said the donation is the first of at least two donations her company and her subcontractors want to make toward the shelter, using proceeds from sales of finished homes.
“This is a seed for the start of the project,” she said. “We will continue looking at what we can do to help them so that the shelter can be finished soon and be able to help the families that need it.”
Maria Ramos, the coalition’s president, said the shelter will be named Proverbs 31. It will provide an environment where domestic violence victims, primarily women, “are going to know that they can find love and where they will be helped to understand that they have worth, as is said in that biblical passage,” Ramos said.
The shelter will offer women and their children a temporary roof over their heads, Ramos said, but will also provide a place where they can gain access to services such as community organizations, legal counseling, psychological support and other help.
Juan Manuel Guerrero, Precinct 2 justice of peace and a coalition member, said the shelter will provide much-needed assistance to victims of what remains a frequent crime in the south county.
He said the coalition is applying for classification as a 501.c3 nonprofit organization so it can take in taxexempt donations for the project.
In the meantime, funds are temporarily going into an account set up by Pueblo Housing, an existing nonprofit organization headed by Agustin Tumbaga, who is taking part in efforts to build the shelter.
Tumbaga said a domestic violence shelter is long overdue in the south county, where, he said, three prior efforts to build a shelter have failed.
For more information about supporting the shelter, residents can call Ramos at (559) 301-7460.