05/26/2026
Latest : When someone experiences sexual assault, the community’s response should be immediate, compassionate, coordinated, and reliable.
At one of the hardest moments imaginable, survivors should know that care will be there for them. Not confusion. Not institutional instability. Care.
For years, SAFE Alliance and the people at Eloise House provided important, compassionate service for survivors in our community. Many dedicated nurses, advocates, counselors, and staff helped people through traumatic moments with professionalism and humanity. That work mattered and deserves recognition and gratitude.
Recently, SAFE announced severe financial problems that threatened the continuation of forensic exam services at Eloise House. SAFE announced a tight deadline that surprised many. That announcement understandably created concern among survivors, advocates, healthcare providers, law enforcement, and a lot of others across Austin.
SAFE invited me to provide a solution. My focus was simple: make sure there was no interruption in care for survivors. Any solution was never about protecting one organization or another. It was about protecting survivors.
SAFE requested the City come up with the money to fund operations. The City has been providing a relatively small amount of money for Eloise House, even as it provides almost $3 million for a variety of SAFE services.
As I said at the time, it didn’t matter how SAFE got to this point, the threat called for a community solution. And that’s exactly what started to happen.
The hospital systems took a community-minded approach in these conversations. Ascension Seton, Baylor Scott & White, and St. David’s stepped up to meet their obligations and help stabilize and strengthen this essential service. Central Health is also leaning into this effort to make sure services are widely available.
Read more: https://bit.ly/Wire52326
