Welch announces non-profit to assist victims of crime

ALAMOSA — Lani Welch, the woman who has largely become the face and voice of people who have been victimized by crime in the San Luis Valley, announced she is forming a non-profit organization called Ribbons of Courage. The organization will be solely devoted to supporting victims of all ages — adults, teenagers, children — and, once fully operational, will provide a myriad of services.

The announcement was made in advance of Crime Victims Week — April 23 to 30. But the impetus for the non-profit began with a phone call Welch received on a Monday morning two years ago.

It was March 15, 2021. Welch was in her car, just a few minutes away from the courthouse where the preliminary hearing was scheduled to determine if the man she had accused of domestic violence was going to be charged with the crime.

The phone call was from the district attorney at the time. It was short, no time for conversation or discussion. He informed her there had been a change in the proceedings.

Welch was already teetering on the edge. Seven months had passed since she had called the sheriff’s department and reported the attack, months during which she had received numerous threatening calls from her attacker who already had a record of domestic violence against other women. And the district attorney who initially filed the case had lost the election and a new DA had taken his place.

From the beginning, Welch felt the new DA, Alonzo Payne, did not take her seriously. He had been abrupt and dismissive in their interactions, as if he were annoyed. She later read in court documents that the DA described her as “hysterical.”

“He acted like he didn’t think it was serious, like he didn’t care,” she recalls.

Welch was accustomed to panic attacks by then, having yet to be diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The phone call triggered a panic attack so severe Welch had to pull over. She could not think, could not hear what was being said, could not breathe. Her mother had to take the wheel and drive the remaining distance.

But the phone call also triggered something else.

“I knew the district attorney wasn’t going to fight for me,” she says. “I was going to have to fight for myself.”

Welch obtained counsel from the Rocky Mountain Victims Law Center to help her advocate for her rights under the Victim Rights Act (VRA). She submitted a complaint to the group overseeing violations of the VRA, citing DA Payne’s actions. Her complaint was confirmed by the group. She connected with other victims who had similar experiences and became their voice as she rallied a campaign to have the former DA recalled. The election was never held because, facing a recall, the district attorney resigned from his position.

In the course of all those actions, Welch learned — both in herself and from other victims — what she already knew to be true. Being the victim of a crime changes a person’s life.

“You never really get used to it. It becomes part of who you are. It took me 40-something years to really understand that,” she said.

While the legally mandated support provided to victims during court proceedings is crucial, the need for support does not end with resolution of a victim’s case. That need is significant and felt by more people than she realized.

“I’ve gotten phone calls from people in Texas,” she says. But there are few resources for the distinct kind of support and understanding victims of crime need on an ongoing basis.

Welch aims to change that with Ribbons of Courage. Once established as a 501(c)3, the non-profit will be headquartered in Monte Vista and begin assisting through victim advocacy, support groups, providing hygiene, clothing and emergency housing and eventually offer family focused activities that lower stress — activities that those living on limited income may not be able to access otherwise.

While Welch was a victim of domestic violence, a group already served by Tu Casa, she is clear that her intention is not to compete with Tu Casa — an organization she praises for their excellence and commitment. Her intent is for Ribbons of Courage to supplement and expand support, including to victims of other crimes. She is also clear that this is not a judicial systems-based organization.

Welch’s lived experience has taught her how abuse at a young age can act as a precursor to other abuse that follows.

“When a child so young is abused, they begin to believe something is wrong with them and they think it was their fault,” she said.

She reflects on how that played into her past aversion to conflict and extreme reluctance to stand up for herself and how, with others she has known, that history has led to addictive and self-destructive behaviors. Someone recognizing and acknowledging that the past can set the stage for a person to build a new path for their lives.

Yet she also knows that lived experience is not enough when working with others who have likewise been victimized, and she has completed training from the Office of Victims of Crime that is recognized by the Colorado Office of Victim Advocacy. She will also attend additional training in the future.

But, for now, Welch is focused on building the infrastructure needed to start a non-profit with a large but much needed purpose.

She has assembled a board of directors made up of leaders in the Valley who have displayed commitment to the cause over the last two years, including local businessman Ryan Williams, author Larry Garner, Monte Vista’s Bob Richards who owns KSLV radio station and Denise Witherspoon as well as DA Anne Kelly, Costilla County Sheriff Danny Sanchez and Vanessa Romero, a victim advocate who also has lived experience.

Toward a goal of raising $7,500 to get started, Welch has sewn by hand 1,200 awareness “ribbons of courage,” available in businesses throughout the Valley in exchange for a donation. Those funds will be used to establish the 501(c)3, set up a Facebook page and email plus other methods of both getting the word out about what she is doing.

She has been given space to work at KSLV radio station in Monte Vista and received support from major businesses in every community in the Valley who have ribbons available for a donation.

And she is just getting started.

As of Thursday, it has been two years, one month and 12 days since Welch first got that phone call. When asked how she views her life now compared to then, she attributes the change to being empowered by helping others.

“That’s how I found meaning in the whole situation — by helping others,” she says.

For more information, go to the organization’s Facebook page — Ribbons of Courage.