October 27th, 2022  | FREE Community Event. Dinner provided.

Thursday, October 27th, 2022 6:00 pm
6:00 pm – Program Begins
Location: Westland Baptist Church 1407 West Grand Parkway South, Katy, TX 77494,

Each year the Crisis Center staff at Katy Christian Ministries provides a free program “A Night to Remember Those Lost to Domestic Violence” to community members and direct service providers who work with victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse.  We host this memorable event so we can bring awareness of domestic violence to the community and are hopeful we help provide preventative knowledge too.

We will also be awarding the Brittany Whalen Rumsey Award of Excellence for Outstanding Service to an individual who has earned this distinction for their work helping victims of Domestic Violence.

Here is some additional information about the project. The Silent Witness project consists of a traveling exhibit of life-sized, free-standing, red, wooden silhouettes. Each silhouette represents a victim of domestic violence from Harris, Fort Bend and Waller Counties, who was murdered by an intimate partner or family member and whose partner has been convicted of the murder/suicide. The mission of this project is to remind us of the impact of domestic homicides and family violence within our community. Because these women/men/children no longer have a voice, the silhouettes are called the Silent Witnesses.

We know Domestic Violence is widespread and affects over 10 million Americans each year and anyone can be a victim of domestic violence regardless of age, sex, ability, ethnicity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or religion.  We also know children who grow up in violent homes are believed to suffer abuse and neglect at a higher rate than the national average.

Thank you so much for becoming part of our program to help us bring awareness in our community, to this tragic topic.

About:

Amy Smith has spent her career as a Victim Advocate in Harris County, Texas having worked in the City of Houston Health Department’s Sexual Assault Program, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office Victim Witness Division, Crime Stoppers of Houston, and now with the Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council. She has been involved on several local and Statewide Committees focusing on all types of victim related issues. She has done trainings and presentation at the local, State and National level on all issues related to crime victimization.  She is also a Senior Fellow with the American Leadership Forum.   In 2019 she received the Vivian R. Miles Lifetime Achievement Award from the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault.

Susan Denise lived in the Katy community for 36 years until her recent retirement. Over these years, she was involved in various philanthropic organizations by volunteering at various events or serving on various boards. Among these opportunities she volunteered at her Church, local schools and scouting programs. Susan holds certifications from various organizations, including Office of the Attorney General & Texas Council on Family Violence. Susan holds a degree in Child Development and continues to expand her education in the Social Workers and Christian Ministry bachelor’s degree program at Belhaven University. Completion set for the fall of 2023. However, Susan considers her career with Katy Christian Ministries (KCM) as the “icing on the cake”.

Susan became affiliated with KCM through volunteering and donating to the ministry, many years ago, after she first moved to Katy. Sometime in 2002, she was asked to join the KCM team full-time as an advocate in the Domestic Abuse Center. Shortly thereafter, she became the Director of the Sexual Abuse Center. Then in 2004, as the Director of the Sexual Abuse Center, she merged the two centers and developed Katy Christian Ministries Crisis Center. Susan did leave KCM for a time to pursue other avenues of development; however, KCM has a way of drawing people back and so she returned to the ministry to continue her work with victims of domestic and sexual abuse.

Susan has been instrumental in growing the Crisis Center during her tenure. The center now has eight full-time employees, including two full-time counselor positions, and several interns are provided supervision each semester. During the pandemic unprecedented steps were implemented using virtual platforms, to provide all necessary services to victims. This includes counseling and crisis sessions with clients through secured zoom access & telehealth, which both utilizes webcams.

Susan has always stated that nothing is accomplished without teamwork. Leaning on each team member is important and essential to balancing personal life and the everyday responsibilities in the crisis center. As State Representative, Michael Schofield stated; by the Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council, Susan’s retirement is the “end of an era”.