170 Common St., Ste. 101, Lawrence, MA 01840

  978-242-7788  24/7 Free and Confidential Support

ABOUT US

About Delamano Inc.

Delamano was established in 2003. Diminished funding for domestic violence programs was resulting in emergency helpline calls being routed into a centralized service outside of the Merrimack Valley. The founders of Delamano were concerned that the Greater Lawrence community was in need of an emergency service network that was fluent in the predominant language (Spanish) as well as knowledgeable about the cultural nuances of the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Since its inception, Delamano has been focused on increasing awareness about domestic violence in the community.  In 2005, Delamano was incorporated as a Section 501 (c )( 3) non-profit corporation, enabling the organization to seek support from philanthropic organizations and government agencies to support program development.


As a startup non-profit, Delamano has worked in stages to a Spanish/English helpline for victims of domestic abuse. In 2007, Delamano received a state appropriation and started training helpline volunteers and receiving calls from victims. As local agency phone lines shut down after 5 pm, Delamano has been able to field calls during the overnight hours.  In addition to providing immediate assistance to local victims over the telephone, Delamano provides emergency transportation, safe housing and food vouchers until the victims can be referred to local agencies for continued assistance.


Delamano, Inc.’s future goals include the establishment of a safe house for domestic violence victims in the greater Lawrence area and the continuation of efforts to create awareness and programs in the community about the crisis of domestic violence.

MISSION STATEMENT

Delamano, Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to domestic violence intervention. Our purpose is to set up, staff and operate an independent Spanish/English hot line for victims of domestic violence in the Greater Lawrence area and to provide those victims with access to emergency shelter, advocacy, and a connection to resources offering the support and counseling needed to move on with their lives. It is our vision that the services we provide may become obsolete when domestic violence is eradicated. 


The objective of this organization is to serve in the form of support and to try to take a light of hope to all domestic violence victims. Delamano is an organization that has laid its foundations in the fight for women equality. The organization was officially established March 8, 2003. This day was a very important day since it’s also International Women Day. Since then the Board of directors have made it a point to meet Monthly and to work laboriously so that its fight to educate and to create new alternatives of existence for domestic violence victims and her children. 


Our goal is to develop a campaign of education and a hotline, with the purpose of making the work more bearable for the current existing domestic violence organizations. These organizations have an equal objective in sight, to tackle the domestic violence that at the present time affects our society and that has claimed the lives of many women. We hope that with our efforts we can become a resource of reinforcement of the intrinsic values of women and its children.  


Statistics Our birth is motivated from the sad reality that women, and children were facing.  In Massachusetts, in the fiscal year 2003 (July 1, 2002 to June 30, 2003), over 3,900 women and children in this state sought safety at a domestic violence shelter or safe home. More than 40,000 restraining orders were issued, and every domestic violence hotline in the state answered an increased number of emergency calls. Tragically, Massachusetts saw an almost 50% increase in the number of domestic violence homicides, as 21 women, men, and children were murdered. Five of these people were children, the youngest only five years old. These numbers do not represent faceless statistics, but instead represent countless lives that have been affected by the horrors of domestic violence and sexual assault. (Jane Doe Inc)  

Children

BOARD

Tania Palumbo (President)

Tania has been a resident of the Merrimack Valley since 2006. She graduated from Assumption College cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Spanish. Thereafter, she received her Juris Doctorate magna cum laude from Massachusetts School of Law in 2009. She has been an attorney licensed to practice law in Massachusetts since 2009, with a law office located in Lawrence, MA, which concentrates in immigration law. Tania’s direct experience with domestic violence victims comes from representing them as clients during their immigration process.

 

Tania joined Delamano in 2012 as a general Board member currently serves as the Board’s clerk. She is an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association where she participates in several outreach programs geared towards educating and providing legal services to the immigrant community.

Erika Castillo (Vice-President)

Erika has been a Greater Lawrence resident since high school. She graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a BA in Psychology and a certificate in Criminal Justice. She received her JD from Mass School of Law in 2005 and is a practicing attorney in Lawrence.

 

Erika also has 6 years experience in the Military Police Unit of the Mass National Guard. Her direct service experience includes a residential program for troubled youth and a victim’s witness advocate for the Essex County District Attorney. In this capacity Erika served as a workshop facilitator in topics such as teenage pregnancy and domestic violence abuse.

Sandy Almonte (Treasurer)

Sandy has over 25 years working with victims of crime. During this time she has worked with victims of sexual assault, domestic violence and hate crimes. In addition she works with bereavement survivors and substance abuse clients. She began her work with children that were sexually assaulted and their families in New York City. She then joined the Women’s Resource Center as a Sexual Assault Counselor and Community Educator. She was responsible for organizing the sexual assault support groups and community activities, as well as developing a community educational curriculum.

 

In 1999, she went to work for The Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA as a Domestic Violence (DV) Specialist for the North East and Central Region of MA. In 2001, she became the North East Supervisor.  In 2013, she joined for the Department of Housing and Community Developmetn as a a North East Regional Supervisor for the the Division of Housing Stabilization. Now, she works for the Lawrence Police Department as the Director of Police and Community Relations.  In 2003 Sandy Almonte  co-founded Delamano, Inc. Ms. Almonte has received several recognitions at the state and local level for her work with victims of crime.  Sandy is a commissioner for the Essex County Commission on the Status of Women.   She holds a BS degree from University of MA, Lowell and a Master degree in Education from Merrimack College.

Flor Maldonado (Clerk)

Flor has BS in Psychology.  Flor joined Health Quarters in 2006 a non-profit health provider that focuses on the reproductive health and family planning.  This agency was the baseline of her work which then allowed Flor to join the YWCA of Greater Lawrence as a volunteer working with sexual assault and domestic violence survivors.  After three years in April 2011, Flor then became the YWCA Women's Services Coordinator overseeing the Sexual Assault Hotline, the SANE Program and working one on one with victims of domestic violence and their families.  During this time at the YWCA, Flor was able to be part of several committees such as the Lawrence Coalition to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, MSPCC Advisory meeting and the Lawrence Methuen Coalition. Flor served as the Co-chair of Mayor's Health Task Force -Men's and Women's Health Working Group for five years, where she worked in collaboration with many community leaders in organizing community events raising awareness about health disparities. 

 

In April of this year, Flor started working with the Department of Children and families as their Domestic Violence Specialist for the Northern Region.  Flor serves as a board member for the Sisters of Notre Dame and their Notre Dame Education Center and more recently as a new board member of Delamano.

Wendy Luzon (Board Member)

Wendy Luzon is a community activist and a Domestic Violence Specialist. For the past 15 years Wendy has worked tirelessly towards the elimination of domestic violence and sexual assault.  She began her work in 2001 at The Women’s Resource Center   working with children that were sexually assaulted and their families. In 2004 she joined the YWCA of Haverhill, Women’s Resource Center program as a Family Advocate for the Domestic Violence Program. In 2004 she was promoted as a Shelter Director of the  YWCA of Haverhill Women’s Resource Center Program.  Four years ago she went to work for the Mayor of city of Lawrence, Wendy work s as a liaison between Mayor Rivera and the neighborhoods represented throughout the city.


Wendy has been on the board for Casa Dominicano and  Desfile Dominicano. She was a founding member of the Financial Literacy Association, Northern Essex Latin American Club “NELAC, Former board member for the Youth Development Organization.  She also appointed in 2006 for the Human Rights Commission by Mayor Sullivan.

Lidia Maldonado (Board Member)

Lidia Maldonado is a Dominican immigrant who was raised in Lawrence since the age of 9. Lidia holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and a Masters in Public Administration from Suffolk University. She has over 10 years of experience working in human services within the Lawrence community, first as a social worker for the Department of Children and Families and currently as a Probation Officer for the Lawrence District Court. She has worked with hundreds of victims of domestic violence and has seen the impact that this epidemic has had on families, especially women and children. As a result, Lidia has become a passionate advocate for those whose voices have been silenced by their abusers. As a member of the Board of Directors for Delamano, Lidia is committed to working with her peers to bring about justice, awareness and support to those who have been affected, directly or indirectly, by domestic violence. 

...when I met Delamano they referred me to a legal center that provided me with

the legal orientation and answers to my questions that brought peace to my mind. I found Delamano,

a friend who i could call and would listen empathically without judgment, who professionally and

objectively would lead me to find my own strenghts to survive this journey...


- DV Survivor