New County Program Brings On-Scene Support to Domestic Violence Survivors

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SAN MATEO - The 27-year-old woman carried a Ring camera every time she left the house.

It was not for her security. Her fiancé forced her to take it, she said, to monitor where she went and who she spoke to.

"I was being physically abused every one to two days," she said. "I had no job and I had to be home by 5 p.m. I could not do anything without his permission. His friends followed me everywhere."

When she went to police, she was afraid to be seen and struggled to answer questions. Then someone unexpected introduced herself.

Kayla Adams told her she was an advocate for survivors of domestic violence. She spoke calmly, listened without interrupting and made steady eye contact as she explained options: filing a restraining order, finding a place to stay, developing a safety plan.

"She made me feel comfortable and didn't make me feel like I was just another victim that she had to help," the woman recalled.

Her experience is part of a broader shift underway in San Mateo County: embedding domestic violence advocates alongside police officers when a call comes in.

Adams, an advocate employed by CORA (Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse), is part of a County pilot that stations the nonprofit's advocates alongside local law enforcement agencies, providing immediate support when survivors may feel overwhelmed and unsure of what to do next.

"If you don't know what's out there, you don't know what to ask for," said Adams, who is embedded full time at San Mateo police headquarters, her schedule reflecting when domestic violence calls are most common. "I tell people, 'You don't have to decide anything right now.' Just knowing someone is there can make a difference."

The Board of Supervisors authorized up to $1 millionfor the two-year pilot in June 2024, funding it through Measure K reserves to carry it through 2026. The program grew out of the County's Domestic Violence Task Force, which identified the need for more immediate access to advocacy and resources.

The launch followed the deaths of five women in 2023 that authorities attributed to domestic violence. County officials estimate domestic violence affects more than 10,000 residents annually.

"Domestic violence has touched my own family," Board President Noelia Corzo said. "I know how difficult it is to ask for help, especially in those first moments. This program ensures survivors are not alone - not at the scene, not in court and not in the days and weeks that follow."

The program - now known as the Domestic Violence Emergency Response Team, or DVERT - pairs advocates from CORA with officers in Daly City, San Mateo and the North Fair Oaks bureau of the Sheriff's Office.

"By providing immediate, on-scene access to advocacy and resources, this program helps bridge that critical gap," said Daly City Police Chief Cameron Christensen.

"Research and experience show that a survivor's willingness to engage with support services often diminishes as time passes, while the complex dynamics of abuse can inhibit a victim's ability to seek help," the chief said.

Here's how it works: When law enforcement receives a domestic violence call, an advocate, if available, is dispatched at the same time as officers. Once officers secure the scene, the advocate approaches the survivor to offer immediate support, and, if the victim wants it, help in the hours and days that follow.

Advocates and law enforcement officials say those hours can be among the most dangerous, particularly as victims decide their next steps.

"You're safety-planning for the next 24 to 48 hours," said Taylor Zajonc, an advocate embedded with the Daly City Police Department. "Do you have somewhere to go? Do you have food? Do you have clothes? Do you have your kids?"

Zajonc begins forming those questions before she arrives at a call. From her desk she listens to a handheld police radio. If domestic violence is suspected, or if officers request her, she deploys to a holding area roughly two blocks away.

Once police have given her the all-clear, she will introduce herself to the victim. "Intervention in that moment is the most powerful thing we can do," she said.

Sometimes survivors accept assistance - emergency housing, a safety plan, a restraining order. Other times, they are not ready.

In one recent case, Zajonc had been in contact with a woman about safety planning when, in the middle of the night, police were called back to the home for a violent incident.

The abuser had fled before officers arrived. The woman alerted officers that she was working with Zajonc, who contacted her the next morning.

The woman described physical and emotional abuse, along with a custody dispute over the couple's children. Zajonc focused on what could be done immediately: preparing for court, arranging legal support and walking the woman - literally - across the street from the Daly City Police Department to a restraining order clinic.

"Just having someone walk with you matters," Zajonc said. "You're handing someone off to strangers at one of the worst moments of their life."

Later, in court, Zajonc stood beside the woman, offering emotional support and taking notes. The judge granted the restraining order, Zajonc said, and the woman received custody of her children.

Not every case ends with clear resolutions. Some clients stop answering calls.

"I hope that means things are going well," Zajonc said. "Sometimes no news is good news."

On a recent Sunday evening shift, when domestic violence calls often spike, Adams sent text messages to clients about where to find food and followed up with others on the status of restraining orders.

Adams and Zajonc say they focus on providing options, allowing survivors to decide what works best for them.

"What do you want out of this?" she asks clients. "What do you want to see your life look like? I want you to make the choices you're going to make, because for so many victims, the ability to make choices has been taken away."

The woman who once carried a Ring camera is now living with her parents and attending school to become a paralegal. Her ex-fiancé is in custody in another county.

Seeking a restraining order was one of the hardest decisions of her life.

"I kept hoping things would get better and the abuse would stop," she said. "I risked my safety to bring the truth to light."

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Effie Milionis Verducci
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