Answers to Questions



GeneralWe serve victims and new survivors of intimate partner violence, domestic abuse, and family violence. Our primary service is providing transportation to arrive to domestic violence shelter or a family home far away.All clients need to be in a safe location for pickup such as a shelter, police station, fire station or busy public store or restaurant. See our website’s list of safe places for ideas.Travel must originate from inside the North Texas area. See our website’s service area map.Victims needing a car ride to a domestic violence shelter are limited in distance of up to 3 hours of driving, or 200 miles away. We require to confirm acceptance to the shelter before travel begins.Only one travel to leave the state of Texas may be honored regardless of the method of travel service, the cost associated, and the distance one goes leaving the state.Traveling clients must be 18 years or older. We cannot travel with children without a parent.We can travel with pets and we require them to be in a crate. For liability and logistics purposes, our volunteers cannot ride in or drive a client’s personal vehicle.Time for departure varies. A ride to shelter from our Directory of Shelters is typically honored the same day. A ride to a destination in another state may take days before departure pending volunteer availability. Bus passes are typically booked one week in advance. Fuel cards need to be reserved at least 1 day before departure. Client travel may be scheduled for any day or hour.Travel by car/van is based on volunteer driver availability; therefore, we are unable to guarantee same day service for multi-hour driving trips. The farther the distance for travel, the longer it may take to find a driver for that trip. We ask callers who will be traveling with children if they are aware of their custodial or parental rights.Services are offered to men and women equally.We do not rescue or transport non-sheltered trafficked or sex crime victims at this time. We may assist a survivor of trafficking from a domestic violence shelter to a new safe place.We do not move furniture. We cannot rent nor pull a trailer.We do not provide service for couples, nor callers with the support of an intimate partner in their destination area or departure area. We do not support travel to be with or near an abuser.We do not offer travel to Hawaii, Alaska, or Puerto Rico. We can help a client get to a US border but our volunteers cannot cross that border. Clients intending to cross a US border need to study the requirements and laws regarding border crossing with children.Meals for clients being driven by a volunteer more than 4 hours away are paid for and limited to $10/person per meal.Fuel Assistance clients are responsible for food, lodging and mechanical needs during their travel.Fuel Assistance fuel cards must be requested at least one-day in advance.Fuel assistance clients have no limit to the fuel amount used to arrive at a destination. Fuel transactions are monitored. Local use of fuel with our fuel assistance card is theft and considered a crime. Shelter TravelWe only accomodate arriving to a domestic violence shelter facility that confirms to accept. Arriving to a shelter inside the DFW metroplex will be honored as many times as needed. Arriving to a shelter located an hour or more outside the DFW metroplex can be honored twice. Arriving to shelter located in a bordering state can only be honored one time.We will honor picking up callers from a homeless shelter but do not honor arrivals to a homeless shelter.Survivors without children and capable of independent travel may be offered an intercity bus ticket such as Greyhound. We recommend bringing up the topic of travel early in a shelter client’s stay to avoid waiting past an exit date.Advocates and case managers may call ahead to inquire about qualification and scheduling for a client before formal intake. We must hear the client’s voice requesting service and complete our own intake.Travel to shelter outside of the metroplex is limited to a 200 mile radius. Exceptions may be granted for men victims seeking to arrive to a men's shelter and to those with pets going to a domestic violence shelter that accomodates pets. Bus pass clients to another shelter still need a 1 week wait for departure. Fuel assistance clients going to shelter in another state still need to give us one day’s notice before departure.We can pick up a shelter client directly from the shelter or from a mutually agreed public location.Clients arriving to a shelter are to arrive directly to the shelter property or to a staff attended administrative/counseling office. We will not embark on travel if police escort or taxi service is required for arrival to the shelter. Shelter personnel will be notified at least 30 minutes in advance for pickup or arrival.We use 3-way conference calling with the client on the phone to verify acceptance to shelter. Written consent for release of information may be obtained at the time of picking up the client if she/he elects to sign that.VolunteersVolunteer drivers must: pass a criminal background check, pass a driving background check, have a valid driver’s license, be 21 years of age or older, and be comfortable with highway driving.Volunteers may use their own personal vehicles to travel with a client locally or across Texas. We provide vehicles to be used for multi-state travel and discourage personal vehicles for those trips.There are volunteer positions available that do not require passing a background check. Email volunteer@ to inquire about those options.There are some volunteer positions that can be done from home.Orientation typically takes 90 minutes. Driver training takes around 3 hours. In-person or camera enabled video conference orientation is a requirement for both. ................
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