The Houston Area Women's Center works to end domestic and sexual violence and supports all in building safe and healthy lives through advocacy, counseling, education, shelter and support services.

We provide direct services to clients that include crisis intervention, safety planning, and emergency shelter, as well as assistance with transitional housing, counseling, legal advocacy, career development, and case management. We also work to make community systems and institutions more functional and responsive to victims of domestic and sexual violence – by changing laws and working with law enforcement agencies, prosecutors and medical personnel. Through our Primary Prevention Program, we partner with educators, students, and parents to challenge and neutralize the underlying attitudes and beliefs that lead to, and sustain, abusive behaviors. Volunteers also play a crucial role in fulfilling our mission. Utilizing a well-trained and dedicated corps of volunteers allows us to extend our reach and capacity in a variety of ways.

We have been doing this work since we were founded in 1977. Today, we have approximately 115 paid staff, a counseling and administrative building, a residential shelter for 120 women and children, a state-of-the-art hotline call center, and over 400 active volunteers. Each year our services touch the lives of approximately 60,000 individuals. We reach another 30,000 through our community education and training programs.

In every program area, we constantly measure our outcomes, and we systematically collect and analyze feedback from our clients and use that feedback to strengthen our programs and services. We also receive funding from a number of sources, including government granting agencies and the United Way. As such, we undergo program and financial audits and reviews throughout the year that measure our progress against program delivery and financial targets. In addition, we develop annual plans and budgets that flow from multi-year strategic plans. Where possible, annual goals and objectives include clear metrics by which we can assess our success. Moreover, senior staff and board of directors continually focus on fiscal responsibility, sustainable fundraising, staff retention rates, and employee satisfaction.

Since the Houston Area Women's Center's launch in 1977, we have made major strides in how society views, and addresses, the crimes of domestic violence and sexual assault. Whereas four decade ago there were virtually no resources available to victims of domestic and sexual violence, we are now able to offer a wide range of life-changing services. This includes our 120 bed residential shelter -- the primary emergency shelter for victims of domestic violence within Houston's city limits. Each year, we provide a safe place to stay for approximately 1300 adults and 800 children. We are Houston's rape crisis center. From the moment an assault is reported, throughout the entire healing process, we provide counseling and advocacy for sexual assault victims. Our 24-hour hotlines, which began in 1977 with a few old phones and a handful of volunteers, now receive nearly 50,000 calls a year and can accommodate callers in any language. Our non-residential counseling programs, for individuals and groups, have grown to serve more than 9000 adults and 4000 children annually. Every year, our children's court services program -- the only one of its kind in Texas – provides counseling and guidance for more than 400 children who have to testify in court as witnesses or victims of violent crime. Our community education and training programs connect with approximately 30,000 people each year, reaching a diverse population that includes students, parents, faith leaders, educators, healthcare professionals and members of law enforcement. While our services reach tens of thousands of people in our community annually, we know that we don't reach every individual who is affected by domestic and sexual violence. To reach more people with our life-saving, life-changing services, we continue our efforts to broaden community awareness and encourage access.