Palomar Marks 6 Years Of Serving Violence Victims As Number Of Clients Rise

Palomar, a non-profit organization that helps victims of domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault, stalking, elder abuse and human trafficking, is celebrating six years of service to the Oklahoma City community.

Palomar opened its doors in 2017 as a centralized location to meet the needs of many victims. Since then, their client numbers have risen greatly.

"Palomar partners with 42 community partners to do this work," CEO Hillary Burkholder said. "On site, we have the domestic violence unit for the Police Department if someone is needing to file a police report. We have the YWCA, which is able to court advocacy, safety planning, assisting them with VPOs [victim protection order]. They also have domestic violence nurse examiners here that are able to do exams on site in a comfortable location. We have both Legal Aid and Palomar Legal Network that are here to help people that have needs with civil legal services. So maybe that's VPO representation or with family court. We [also] have an animal advocate."

Palomar said in 2022, it served 5,409 unique clients, a 25% increase compared with 2021. In addition, the agency saw 1,467 kids in its Children's Sanctuary and provided 40,364 client services. Palomar said it has seen growth every year in unique clients served with the exception of 2020.

Among the clients Palomar helped was Natalie Seiden, who escaped from domestic violence more than two years ago.

"It was Dec. 12, 2020. My children's father attacked me for the last time," Seiden said. "And because my 6-month-old was in the house. I guess she was 8 months old and I was also two months pregnant, two or three months pregnant, they removed me and the child out of the house."

Seiden said because her children's father took her phone, her neighbor had to call 911. 

The month after the attack, Seiden went to Palomar, which connected Seiden with various resources so she and her children could find a home. Because Seiden was a stay-at-home mom, she had no income. So Palomar connected her with Homeless Alliance, which got her vouchers so she could secure housing. Palomar also connected Seiden with a program to obtain furniture. 

In addition, Seiden said she took classes called, "Making Sense of Your Worth," at Palomar through the HALO Project. Her two kids were cared for at Palomar's Children's Sanctuary while she took part in the programs.

"My life has completely done a 180," Seiden said. "My children and I are safe. We're free. We have healthy relationships. We know how to build healthy relationships. I'm teaching how to build healthy relationships."

Since Seiden completed the programs at Palomar, things have been looking up.

"I'm in school making honor roll at Rose State College," said Seiden. "We attend a wonderful church. Life is better than I ever expected it to be."

Palomar will be moving to a new home in 2025, right across the street from the current location. The $38 million facility is being funded by the MAPS 4 program.

"Being in Midtown, which is visible, not hiding away in a corner, we're sending that message that while there is a lot of this happening in our community, there are also a lot of people that are recognizing that and are here to support them," said Burkholder.