Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse (AVDA)

Conclusion

Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse (AVDA) meets the 20 Standards for Charity Accountability.

Purpose

Stated Purpose:
AVDA’s (Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse) mission is to end family violence by advocating for the safety and self-determination of victims, promoting accountability for abusers and fostering a community response to abuse. AVDA is dedicated to providing multilingual, transformational, life-saving services to support individuals and families in the cultivation of safe spaces for their children to grow and thrive. AVDA’s services also increase access to the tools and resources victims need to gain independence and stability on their journey to transform in to thriving self-sufficient survivors.

Year, State Incorporated:
1980, TX

Also Known As:
AVDA

Programs

AVDA’s Legal Advocacy Programs offer free legal services to victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse, victim advocacy, and trauma counseling. AVDA’s model of service provides support and restoration from the moment the client walks in the door until after he or she has completed services, investing in healthier families.

AVDA’s Legal Advocacy Program is the primary source of free legal representation for low-income victims of family violence in Harris, Fort Bend, Austin, Grimes, Waller, and Washington counties’ family courts. AVDA serves as attorney of record in lawsuits to safeguard survivors from further abuse (protective orders) and to dissolve the legal ties that bind a survivor to his/her abuser (divorce, child custody, child support and modifications). In 2024, AVDA’s Legal Advocacy Programs fostered safer home for 6,946 adult and child survivors of domestic abuse by providing legal assistance to over 2,500 victims of domestic violence. AVDA’s Family Violence Program provides safety planning, emergency resource referrals, and legal system advocacy to all victims of family violence, regardless of income. In 2024, over 3,600 individuals benefitted from AVDA’s Family Violence Program and Legal Advocacy Program (combined) services. AVDA's Family Violence Program provides advocacy services to victims of abuse and supplies on-site services in our Harris and Fort Bend county offices as well as the Family Violence Units of the Houston Police Department, Houston area Women’s Center, Harris County District Attorney’s Office and the Fort Bend County Women’s Center. AVDA’s Trauma-Informed Counseling is designed to promote restoration, stability, and healing, critical components of a victim’s true success in escaping and remaining free from an abusive relationship, and his/her ability to provide a safe home environment for children to grow and thrive. AVDA’s trauma counselors address issues such as trauma, parenting, depression, anxiety, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, sexual victimization and more. In 2024, AVDA’s trauma counselors provided over 1,458 individual and group counseling sessions to 447 survivors, supporting their journey as they transform to self-sufficient survivors.

In recognition of the need to take a holistic approach to end the cycle of domestic violence, AVDA’s nationally acclaimed Battering Intervention and Prevention Program (BIPP) focuses on promoting safer families to increase child safety. AVDA’s 18-week BIPP psycho-educational groups provide rehabilitation and foster accountability for individuals who have been abusive in their relationships. Individuals are referred to AVDA’s BIPP services by court order or Child Protective Services. In 2024, AVDA worked with 1,043 harm doers to address abusive and controlling behaviors in Harris, Fort Bend, Galveston, and Montgomery counties.

AVDA’s Community Awareness & Prevention Program (CAPP) educates youth and adults about domestic violence and trains law enforcement and social service providers on domestic violence indicators, prevention and intervention, fostering a community response to abuse. AVDA challenges beliefs and community norms that perpetuate domestic violence, and raises awareness about community resources that provide safety for survivors, contributing to brighter futures. In 2024, AVDA’s CAPP team provided 318 domestic violence prevention presentations and educational sessions to 7,185 unduplicated youth. Students learned about dating abuse prevention and healthy relationship skills through Teen Dating Abuse Prevention presentations and eight-week curriculums such as Safe Dates and Live Respect. Additionally, 13,931 adults attended 307 adult prevention presentations and 5,112 adults attended 98 health fairs.Prior to 1980, a battered person in Houston had little access to information on legal rights or to the services of an attorney. In response, the National Council of Jewish Women—Greater Houston Section founded AVDA to serve as a resource for the thousands in need of legal advocacy. Recognizing that batterers must also receive rehabilitative services to end their abuse, AVDA added the Battering Intervention and Prevention Program (BIPP) in 1984, and became the first in the state to become fully accredited.

In 2014, a Counseling and Outreach Program was established, providing a Trauma Counselor to assist victims of domestic abuse, and a Youth and Outreach Specialist to provide community awareness and prevention. In 2017, AVDA expanded its service area for free legal aid for abuse victims living in Fort Bend County. Two years later, residents of Austin, Grimes, Waller, and Washington counties began having access to AVDA’s legal services.

By 2019, the organization employed nine attorney-paralegal teams, including one dedicated to the “working poor,” which are victims who (1) earn too much for government legal aid but not enough for a private lawyer AND (2) are at high-risk of fatality violence. Through advocacy, AVDA pioneered many of the legal institutions focused on domestic violence survivors that we now take for granted. In 1996, AVDA’s leadership resulted in the formation of the Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council. In 2018, AVDA helped spearhead the city’s first Domestic Violence High Risk Team.

Today, AVDA’s holistic approach addresses all aspects of the cycle of domestic violence through three core programs to support non-abusive, violence-free environments where relationships are based on mutual respect. The cornerstone of AVDA’s services is the Legal Advocacy Program, which offers free, legal services to victims of domestic abuse. AVDA’s legal services work to increase safety, autonomy, and economic security for survivors. AVDA’s model of service provides support and restoration from the moment the client walks in the door until after he or she has completed services through free legal representation, as well as victim advocacy and trauma counseling, investing in healthier families. Bilingual Client Advocates assess each survivor’s needs, creating a safety plan and providing information and referrals to organizations that can meet the survivor’s identified needs. Trauma counseling is provided to survivors and their children to address the traumatic impact of experiencing and/or witnessing domestic abuse, as well as supporting family bonding.

Another critical prong of the agency is the Community Awareness & Prevention Program, which provides primary prevention to educate youth about healthy relationships to break the cycle of domestic violence before it starts, contributing to brighter futures. AVDA’s CAPP team is committed to strengthening partner responses to domestic abuse, targeting primary prevention efforts and outreach efforts in underserved, high risk communities. The CAPP team also works to increase universal awareness of the dynamics of family violence among public and nonprofit entities to increase knowledge of referral sources to increase survivor’s access to available services.

AVDA recognizes that in order to end the cycle of domestic violence, the agency must take a holistic approach. As a result of this approach, the Battering Intervention and Prevention Program (BIPP) exists to work with perpetrators to provide rehabilitation and accountability, promoting safer families, leading to increased child safety. The 18-week program offers low-cost group sessions in Harris, Galveston and Montgomery counties.

AVDA is one of only nine nonprofits nationwide – and the only nonprofit in Texas – providing civil legal representation to survivors of domestic abuse. Community outreach and education are critical components in reaching survivors in need of the scarce resource AVDA provides: civil legal aid for survivors of domestic abuse.

For the year ended December 31, 2024, Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse (AVDA)'s program expenses were:

Governance & Staff

Chief Executive
Maisha Colter, CEO

Chair of the Board
Mrs. Vanessa Ames, President and Board Chairman

Chair's Profession / Business Affiliation
Community Volunteer

Board Size
21

Paid Staff Size
42

Fundraising

Method(s) Used:
Appeals by mail, Phone appeals, Individual face-to-face appeals

Tax Status

This organization is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. It is eligible to receive contributions deductible as charitable donations for federal income tax purposes.

Financial

The following information is based on Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse (AVDA)'s audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024.

Source of Funds

Programs: 86% Fundraising: 12% Administrative: 2%