Casa de Misericordia unveiled plans on Tuesday, April 15, for a critical expansion of Laredo’s only domestic violence shelter, Casa de Misericordia.  A signature gift of $300,000 from Laredo’ s Lamar Bruni Vergara Trust which made the shelter expansion possible was celebrated by shelter staff, trust officials, and guests present for the unveiling. 

“We are very proud to have the Lamar Bruni Vergara Trust collaborate with us to make the shelter expansion possible. We salute their continued commitment to Casa de Misericordia and applaud their efforts to end domestic violence in Webb County,” said Sister Rosemary Welsh, executive director of Casa.

The Trust was represented at Tuesday’s ceremony by its Trustees, Judge Solomon Casseb and Joe Martin, has provided a major portion of the funding needed to support the expansion. 

With the hope for the new, expanded facility also comes the sobering realization of what the expansion also signifies, Welsh noted. Expansion is vitally needed not only because Casa is the only domestic violence shelter in Laredo, but also due to the increase in utilization in the last few years. 

“It means, sadly, that our community, like many communities across the country, continues to be gripped by the tragedy of domestic violence.  In 2007 alone, Casa sheltered over 700 women and children generated from local domestic violence outcries,” echoed Casa board president Denise Longoria.   

Project architect is Juan Homero Sanchez and Ramon Zertuche II is project contractor who have both have worked with Casa de Misericordia on previous occasions.

The generosity of the Lamar Bruni Vergara Trust has been pivotal to Casa de Misericordia’s development since its humble beginnings in 1998. 

“In 2004, the Lamar Bruni Vergara Trust shared our vision of an educational component for Casa and provided $850,000 for the Lamar Bruni Vergara Education Center… not only to provide classes to assist victims with transition to self-sufficiency, but to provide counseling to persons out in the community who are experiencing domestic violence but who for the moment do not need shelter.  The center proved crucial to enabling us to help victims to address the situation before it reaches seeking shelter,” Sister Rosemary recalled.

The mission of CASA is to empower women and children by providing a sheltered environment where they can access the very best services in education, legal advocacy, counseling, medical referral, and spiritual guidance.  CASA holds batterers accountable for their actions, and works with the Laredo community to change the way it perceives and responds to the needs of victims of domestic violence.

The shelter provides 24-hour-a-day full service shelter program, 24-hour-a-day crisis telephone lines, referrals to medical services, counseling, legal assistance, support groups, referrals to community agencies, and children’s services.  The shelter itself maintains a homelike, confidential atmosphere vital for providing healing, well-being and for modeling a loving home environment.