Fox 25: Oklahoma City non-profit for domestic violence, Palomar, to celebrate 5th anniversary
By Katie Arata
Published: September 11, 2022
OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — An Oklahoma City non-profit for domestic violence is celebrating its 5th anniversary this week.
Palomar opened in 2017 and is a non-profit that functions as a family justice center, collaborating with 41 community partners that provide services for victims of domestic violence, stalking, human trafficking, sexual assault, child abuse, and elder abuse.
“Palomar is a nonprofit that brings together the great agencies in our community that serve victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, elder abuse, and children who have witnessed violence and bring them together to provide coordinated integrated service services to reduce barriers for those families,” said Palomar Chief Visionary Officer, Kim Garrett.
“We’re really proud and we’re really excited about our fifth anniversary,” said Garrett, “We’ve had a huge impact on breaking generational cycles of violence. And so it’s a time to celebrate our achievements, and also to look forward to the future of what comes next.”
Oklahoma consistently ranks among states with the highest rates of women killed by men, and nearly half of Oklahoma women and men have experienced intimate partner violence or assault, the HIGHEST rate in the U.S. according to Palomar.
“Oklahoma actually rates eighth in the nation for women killed by men. We have a really high prevalence of violence against women specifically, just last year there were over 39,000 calls to 911 that were domestic related. And I always think it’s important to show that’s the equivalent of filling Paycom arena twice for a concert,” said Garrett.
On Tuesday, September 13th, the organization will celebrate its anniversary with a ceremony, where it will announce MAPS 4 developments of the Palomar family justice center.
“We were really fortunate to be chosen as one of the maps for projects and so our project is a $38 million project to build a new state-of-the-art facility to help victims and their children as they rebuild and find hope and healing and safety in their next chapter of life,” Garrett said.
Garrett says that even though Palomar is doing great work with their partners, there is still work to be done.
“I wholeheartedly believe that solutions exist and it’s within reach, but to do so we’ve got to come together,” she said.
If you or anyone you know is a victim of domestic violence, know that you are not alone and there are countless resources available to help.