McKinley County gives domestic abuse survivor facility 90 days to vacate
Navajo Times | Holly James
Council Delegate Germaine Simonson listens to Emily Ellison, executive director for Battered Families Services, plead with the Health, Education and Human Services Committee to look for a facility because of the shutdown by McKinley County on June 14 in Window Rock.
WINDOW ROCK
Individuals and families fleeing domestic violence may end up in harm’s way.
Battered Families Services Inc. in Gallup has been a haven for many domestic abuse survivors seeking help and resources since 1979.
On Monday, May 22, Battered Families Services Executive Director Emily Ellison met with McKinley County officials and was informed of the county’s intent to sell BFS’s shelter to another nonprofit, Kateri College, a church organization, and that the county has no plans to provide an alternate shelter, according to Ellison.
She explains that at the May meeting, she had asked the county to hold the sale for a year or two so the county could provide an alternative shelter that met the equivalent safety standards for their clients.
That plea was not honored, being that almost two weeks later, BFS was emailed a 90-day notice to vacate on June 6, beginning the countdown.
According to Ellison, she stated in a conversation the following day with county manager Anthony Dimas, who advised Ellison that he was given guidance by New Mexico state auditor Joseph M. Maestas to avoid being listed as a fiscal agent for nonprofit agencies. With Maestas’s direction, Dimas also stated that it is not the county’s responsibility to provide an alternative facility to a nonprofit. The Navajo Times did receive confirmation from an agent of the State Auditor confirming Maestas stance on fiscal agents.
Read the full story in the June 15 edition of the Navajo Times.
Highway 264,
I-40, WB @ Winslow