It was an exhilarating walk for staff at the Imperial Regional Detention Facility (IRDF) in Calexico, CA as they gathered to support the fight against domestic violence. Their walk included chants of ‘Stop the violence. Break the silence.’

“First of all, it feels great,” says Facility Administrator Sixto Marrero. “We estimated about 25 employees, but…there’s more than that. At the last minute, more staff decided to attend. There was a lot of energy behind it, and I think we met our mission.”

The facility has been a strong supporter of vital community organizations like WomanHaven since they opened their doors in 2014. The staff are right behind him in their enthusiasm.

Nurse practitioner and staff member Alejandra Villegas was impressed with the event.

“Today’s turnout was amazing. Today was about teambuilding. We are tackling a very deep, very difficult subject a topic which is domestic violence, and I think we keep it quiet. A lot of people don’t share it. But today we gave them a voice, we said it is okay to stop the violence, break the silence, and we’re here for them. And that’s what we’re showing as [staff of] IRDF. We’re here as a team, and we’re here to support each other.”

Araceli Gonzales is an academic instructor at the facility.

“I think it’s extremely important for us to be aware of these incidents of domestic violence,” she explains. “Not only for our detainees we have here – they sometimes suffer lots of domestic violence in their countries, and in their trajectory of arriving here – but also for our staff members. We have our staff Care Team that also tries to assist in any occasion where staff members are suffering domestic violence. The more awareness we have, the better off we are at helping one another.”

The Imperial Regional Detention Facility serves men and women awaiting immigrant processing. They’re proud to provide these individuals with a clean living environment where staff treat each person with respect and dignity. It’s the Imperial way. Facility Administrator Marrero explains that everyone cared for at the facility is important and that he and his staff help them in any way they can.