SAFEline is a 24-hour confidential hotline for people seeking help with sexual or domestic violence, child abuse, human trafficking, or parenting support and is available by phone at 512-267-7233, by text at 737-888-7233, or by online chat.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — This domestic violence awareness month KXAN sat down with a local organization doing what they can to address and stop the violence in Central Texas.
The SAFE Alliance, or SAFE, is a nonprofit providing housing and support services to survivors. It also runs prevention and community education programs.
SAFE’s Julie Skarich, senior director of prevention, education and outreach, said there are typically 900 people in SAFE shelters on any given night. She explained these are people who contacted SAFE through its SAFEline system.
“Our SAFEline is a way for survivors to call to call in, but it’s also open to community members so if you have a relative or a friend that’s experiencing one of those issues you can call in and get resources and advice as well,” she said.
The nonprofit provides legal assistance and counseling to survivors. It also provides survivors with sexual assault test kits, which the nonprofit will hold for five years. Unlike hospital emergency rooms, Skarich said SAFE doesn’t pressure survivors to report to police. Typically, hospitals must contact law enforcement when a patient requests a test kit.
“If you’re in Travis County and you get sexually assaulted, unless you need surgery, you come to SAFE and … get pregnancy prevention or just disease prevention. They help you every step of the way,” she said. “You don’t have to make a decision when you’re in the middle of trauma.”
Those survivors escaped domestic violence, sex trafficking, child abuse and/or sexual assault, Skarich noted.
“Of the people who are killed in domestic violence situations, 77% of them are killed after they leave,” she said. “And so we really work with survivors and trust survivors to keep themselves safe.”
For SAFE, housing is violence prevention, Skarich explained. While the nonprofit can shelter so many, as many as 100 people, some with children, can’t be taken in. This is a pain shared by others in survivor advocacy: not enough resources.
“All of our services are at capacity. There’s funding cuts and other things also that impact us and our ability to provide services,” she said. “We’re trying to provide the same amount of services. We serve about 6,000 people per year, but we have less staff right now just because of the current funding climate.”
Community support helps, in particular volunteers, financial gifts, and donations to SAFE’s warehouse. Currently, SAFE is asking for the public to help assemble Halloween-themed goodie bags.
“When you flee, you flee with nothing. Oftentimes you’re just leaving with the clothes on your back,” she said. “When you leave, your kids don’t have toys; they don’t have clothes, they don’t have all of the things that they need as they’re going through this tough situation.”
She also wants KXAN viewers to know domestic violence “doesn’t know race, a gender, or a socioeconomic level.”
“One in three Texans will experience domestic violence in their lifetime … 16 to 24-year-olds face the greatest risk,” Skarich said.
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