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County moves to partner with Lotus Effect to restore local domestic violence services
Summary
Torrance County staff proposed a hybrid model pairing county-funded local contractors with Lotus Effect, a nonprofit, to provide shelter, counseling and grant-eligible services locally; commissioners directed staff to finalize an MOU and prepare to begin the model July 1.
County Manager Jordan Barela outlined a hybrid approach to restore domestic violence services after a prior MOU with a provider (VSS) ended. The model would keep locally based direct-service contractors (for crisis intervention, advocacy and court accompaniment) while partnering with a nonprofit, Lotus Effect, to provide shelter, clinical counseling, program reporting and access to nonprofit-only grant funding.
Rebecca Sonnebberg, Lotus Effect's executive director (participating by Zoom), described the nonprofit's intent to provide wraparound services and compete for state funding once the VSS contract sunsets. Jarrah Medina, who currently provides field services, confirmed a local caseload of roughly 25–40 calls per month and said there are no local emergency shelters; services now rely on resources in Albuquerque. Commissioners asked for a clear MOU scope and reporting requirements; staff said the goal is to implement the hybrid model starting July 1 and finalize the agreement with Lotus Effect in coming weeks.
