FOX 25: Palomar in Oklahoma City launches survivor-led initiative for domestic violence victims
By: Katie Arata
Published: May 5, 2024
OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — Oklahoma City’s Family Justice Center Palomar is introducing a survivor-led advocacy group poised to ignite change for the voiceless.
Several studies rank Oklahoma among the top states in the country with the highest rates of domestic violence, and the Palomar VOICES program is working to raise awareness and support for those who have been impacted by domestic violence in our community.
The Palomar VOICES OKC is a survivor-led and focused group that empowers survivors to find and raise their voices, breaking the silence that they say enables abusers,
“Our mission is to bring education to get our voices out there to give women a voice who are silent and are too scared to speak up or the ones that can’t speak up,” said Tara Currin, a domestic violence survivor who works with VOICES.
Currin fell victim to domestic violence two years ago, “In March 2022, I was shot by an ex as I was leaving work at Integris,” she said.
Fox 25 reported on the shooting back in 2022, Oklahoma City Police said Currin was found in the stairwell of the Integris parking garage with nine gunshot wounds.
A federal judge later said it was a miracle that Currin survived the attack.
In October of 2023, her ex, Robert Lee Harrison was sentenced to serve life in federal prison for kidnapping and carjacking among other crimes according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“It was then that I became just such an avid domestic violence advocate doing everything that I could to help with the other women’s healing,” said Currin.
Currin said she was inspired to help other women impacted by domestic violence,
“The hardest thing is feeling like you’re alone and no one else understands what you’re going through,” she said, “But there are a group of women who will work with you and help you and just let you know you’re not in this alone.”
Currin said the VOICES group recently met with Oklahoma’s Attorney General to share their stories and work together to change Oklahoma’s domestic violence statistics.
The VOICES group meets on the third Thursday of every month from 6-7:30 PM.
For more information on VOICES, click here.
For more information on Palomar, click here.