Help Support TASA, buy a meal from Vernon McDonald’s July 16

Vernon McDonald’s will be generously donating 20% of all sales between the hours of 5 to 7 p.m., Thursday, July 16 to Texoma Alliance to Stop Abuse in recognition of the organization’s 13th anniversary.
This donation period applies to all sales, including dine-in, drive-thru, pick up and mobile orders. The agency encourages the community to dine at McDonald’s during this time to support their mission and make a difference for survivors in our community.

The nonprofit organization, commonly known as TASA, was founded in 2013 with a single purpose: to eliminate family violence in the community through outreach, batterer intervention and prevention, and victim services. The organization says it was started in memory of 5-year-old Katie Earnest, who died at the hands of her mother’s abuser.
More than a decade later, TASA’s mission remains rooted in that same purpose — helping survivors find safety while working to hold offenders accountable and educate the public about abuse that often remains hidden behind closed doors.

TASA serves Wilbarger, Hardeman and Foard counties, the same three counties within the 46th Judicial District. The organization provides free and confidential services to survivors, educates the public about family violence and operates a Battering Intervention and Prevention Program for offenders.
The organization began operations in July 2013 with the opening of its Battering Intervention and Prevention Program, or BIPP. The 27-week, court-ordered program is designed for men who have abused a female partner and seeks to change abusive habits, behaviors and thinking patterns. The program uses an evidence based curriculum that was created in Duluth, Minnesota and is widely used across the world.
TASA’s work expanded beyond offender intervention as advocates saw a broader need in the rural counties they serve. The organization says local law enforcement agencies do not receive funding to employ victim advocates, leaving many victims with few immediate resources after a violent incident. TASA works with law enforcement to provide victim assistance within 24 hours of a reported family violence crime.
Those services include safety planning, counseling, legal advocacy, court accompaniment, transportation to emergency shelter, and limited financial support. TASA also provides advocacy, counseling through a licensed professional counselor and help for victims preparing for a life free from violence.

In 2018, TASA helped create what it describes as the first Domestic Violence High Risk Team in the Texoma area. The team includes prosecutors, law enforcement officers, advocates and shelter representatives who review high-risk family violence cases and develop safety plans for survivors. TASA says the goal is to improve victim safety and offender accountability.
The organization’s role is especially important in rural communities, where transportation, housing, privacy and access to services can become barriers for victims trying to leave an abusive relationship. In a 2025 interview with News Channel 6, TASA Executive Director Rachel Lira said domestic violence is “not just a big city problem” and happens in rural communities as well.
TASA also works to prevent abuse before it begins. The organization provides community training on topics including the cycle of abuse, teen dating violence, healthy relationships, “Cut It Out” training for cosmetologists and “In Her Shoes,” a simulation designed to help participants better understand the choices and barriers survivors face.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes intimate partner violence as abuse or aggression that occurs in a romantic relationship and says it can include physical violence, sexual violence, stalking and psychological aggression. The CDC says more than 1 in 3 women and more than 1 in 6 men in the United States have experienced contact sexual violence, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner during their lifetimes.

For TASA, awareness is part of the mission. The organization hosts public events, including remembrance walks, to honor victims, support survivors and start conversations about abuse. Lira has said such events are an outward show of solidarity with survivors and remembrance of lives lost.

The work is not limited to crisis response. TASA advocates speak in schools and community settings, help parents understand the impact of domestic violence on children and train local professionals to recognize signs of abuse and refer victims to help.

TASA’s office is at 1900 Pease St., Suite 500, in Vernon. The office is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The office phone number is 940-473-5072. TASA also operates a 24-hour hotline at 800-973-7414.

What began as a response to one child’s death has become a continuing effort to change how rural communities respond to family violence. TASA’s mission is both immediate and long-term: help survivors in crisis, hold offenders accountable and build a community where violence is no longer accepted as private, inevitable or unseen.