San Marcos mayor proclaims February 2026 Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month

San Marcos Mayor Jane Houston on a council meeting occasion proclaimed February 2026 as Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month and called on residents and local institutions to promote healthy, nonviolent relationships.

The proclamation, read aloud by Mayor Jane Houston, said "respectful, supportive, and non-violent relationships are key to safety, health, and academic success" and cited community education as a strategy for preventing dating violence. The proclamation named the Hays-Caldwell Women’s Center (HCWC) and credited the organization with outreach and education efforts in recent years.

Samantha SCS, identified in the meeting as a bilingual resource advocate with the Hays-Caldwell Women’s Center, thanked the mayor and council and described the forms dating abuse can take. "Unhealthy and abusive relationships can take many forms, physical, emotional, verbal, sexual, or nowadays digital," Samantha SCS said, adding that "one in three adolescents will experience this from a dating partner" and that survivors often feel trapped because of fear, financial dependence or emotional manipulation.

Both the proclamation and the HCWC speaker cited outreach numbers for the organization but gave different figures. The proclamation text credited HCWC with reaching an audience of more than 27,680 through prevention social media posts, providing 102 presentations to 2,537 teens and young adults, and reporting 247 toolkit downloads that reached 141,000 people. In her remarks, Samantha SCS cited slightly different figures, saying HCWC "provided 119 dating violence prevention and healthy relationship presentations to 1,917 teens and young adults" and that prevention education toolkit downloads "reached an audience of more than 4 million." The council did not reconcile the numerical differences during the meeting; both sets of figures were presented as organization-supplied outreach measures.

The proclamation emphasized prevention through education and community involvement. Mayor Houston said the city calls on "family, friends, teachers, coaches, faith leaders, community members, and other important people in young people's lives" to work together to influence youth positively and to promote safe relationships.

No vote or policy action was taken at the meeting; the item was a ceremonial proclamation and recognition of the Hays-Caldwell Women’s Center’s work. Council members thanked the presenters and the mayor for the recognition.

The council also received a separate ceremonial proclamation from the Mystic Crew of Okanos naming carnival royalty and announcing a community ball; that item was ceremonial and did not involve policy action.

What’s next: The proclamation is an official recognition and does not by itself create programs or funding; interested residents and organizations were encouraged to follow up with HCWC and city staff for opportunities to support prevention education and community outreach.