ODESSA, Texas — For the staff of the Crisis Center of West Texas, the effort to assist the victims of domestic violence is a full-time job.
In October however, they get some extra help from their friends during the launch of Domestic Violence Awareness month.
On October 1, the Crisis Center and Safe Place of the Permian Basin hosted a kick off event at the Ector County courthouse.
In attendance were local leaders from the Ector County Sheriff's Office, Odessa PD, county officials, State Representative Brooks Landgraf and more
The crowd also filled with shades of purple clothing-a symbol of support to the cause.
Special guests also included Jon Nielsen, the father of Monica Deming who was shot and killed by her boyfriend in 2015.
"Right after Monica passed away it became clear to me that something has to be done because her assailant had multiple protective orders against him, but they were unknown to anyone because they were from other counties," said Nielsen
Since Monica's passing, the tragedy of her death has served as the inspiration for the legislation "Monica's law".
The law was spearheaded by Representative Landgraf and now requires all domestic violence arrests to be entered into a public database.
During the launch event, Landgraf was recognized with a plaque for his commitment to standing up against domestic violence
"There are still a lot of fronts on this battle to be fought but this is a big step in the right direction," said Landgraf.
Unfortunately, while there is strong support to put an end to domestic violence, officials like Odessa Police Chief Mike Gerke say the problem persists as an epidemic.
"Just look at our numbers in Ector County, they're abysmal. I mean we have work to do, and I think part of that is you can't arrest your way out of this problem, it has to come from community awareness," said Gerke.
