Mariposas Resiliency Center

About Us

The Mariposas Resiliency Center is here to help survivors of violent crime in Santa Clara County by providing trauma-informed mental health treatment, identification of needs, coordination of support services, and advocacy. The Mariposas Resiliency Center, formerly the Gilroy Strong Resiliency Center, was established in January 2020 to provide long-term support for survivors, first responders, and other community members impacted by the Gilroy Garlic Festival mass shooting in 2019. Recognizing the need to expand services and the community we serve, we rebranded to the Mariposas Resiliency Center in July 2023 and now help survivors of all violent crimes. The Center’s name was thoughtfully chosen to honor the lives lost and impacted by the shooting. The "mariposas" (butterflies) in our logo represent the three lives lost: Stephen Romero, Keyla Salazar, and Trevor Irby.

Our Services

The Mariposas Resiliency Center, a program of the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, Victim Services Unit (VSU), provides support services to survivors of violent crime, regardless of whether the crime was reported to authorities. All services are free and provided in English and Spanish. All immigration statuses are welcome.

Mariposas’ therapists provide trauma-focused individual and group counseling using evidence-based practices. Our therapists offer meet and greet sessions to help you learn more about counseling, how it can help, and answer any questions you may have.

Following a traumatic event, it is common for other aspects of your life to be impacted. Our victim advocates can help assess your needs and arrange supportive services to help meet those needs. For example, food, housing, employment, public assistance benefits, education, legal help, etc.

Our victim advocates can help guide you through different systems, including the criminal justice system. Victim advocates can provide you with an introduction to the criminal justice system, information about victims’ rights, case updates, and attend court with you if you are asked to testify. Victim advocates may also assist you with obtaining a criminal protective order and link you to resources for a civil restraining order.

The California Victim Compensation Board can assist victims with unreimbursed expenses related to the crime, such as medical and dental treatment, mental health costs, income loss, funeral/burial expenses, relocation, and residential security . Our victim advocates can explain the program guidelines and help you apply.