Additionally, No More, No Más helps survivors from their path and assist them with finding financial, spiritual and housing services—a holistic repair.
Walker-Clark said she noticed within religious settings a communication gap existed between a woman facing domestic abuse and a male religious leader.
“When I was coming up as a young pastor, [religious leaders] were all male. And for them to tell a woman to go back home, that just didn’t feel right to me, let alone safe,” Walker-Clark said.
Walker-Clark said this prompted her to fill the gap as a mediator between women and religious leaders.
“Being a woman of faith and someone who has life experience in this arena, my mission became very clear to me: Women need to be able to go to a source of safety and talk freely of what is going on in their life,” Walker-Clark said.
No More, No Más started in 2010 at Promise Land Church in East Austin. The nonprofit has expanded its services to South Austin churches and Spanish-speaking religious communities. It also expanded services to include men and members of the LGBTQ community.
“We take a counseling and educational path to help clients navigate back to a sense of normalcy. We try to move from victim to victor,” Walker-Clark said.
Her daughter, Tyra Clark, joined the organization shortly after leaving her corporate job. As a Black woman-owned organization, Clark said visibility of their organization and digital divides are one of the biggest challenges faced in their telehealth services.
“We’ve been in business for close to 13 years. Pre-COVID[-19], we helped on average close to 100 clients annually. Our numbers slightly declined due to the pandemic, deepening disparities and exasperating conditions for our clients,” Clark said.
Despite the challenges faced, Clark said she is proud of the organization’s unique background. No More, No Más is one of the two Black-owned and Black woman-owned nonprofits in the Austin metro assisting domestic abuse victims. With telehealth, No More, No Más expanded to statewide counseling.
“We give our services at a low rate, as low as $10-$25, whereas through an insurance company it would be over $120 an hour,” Walker-Clark said. “We’re there with them so they realize there's someone physically walking through the paces with them.”
When it came to choosing the organization’s name, Walker-Clark said she was inspired by the alleged words, "no more, no mas," from a boxing match between Sugar Ray Robinson and Roberto Duran.
“Duran allegedly kept telling Robinson, ‘no more, no mas’ violence. But for me, it's about stopping the violence and silence in homes. So no more, no mas,” she said.
No More, No Más also partners with the SAFE Alliance in Central Texas. SAFE stands for stop abuse for everyone. If you or a loved one is experiencing domestic abuse or violence, visit www.safeaustin.org or call 512)-267-SAFE (7233).
No More, No Más
1704 E. 12th St., Austin
512-554-8874
www.nomorenomas.org
