Nearly one year after the official groundbreaking ceremony was held in May, officials with the Houston Area Women’s Center opened the doors to its new housing facility, One Safe Place Houston. The facility is part of a 5.5-acre campus that offers wraparound client-centered services for survivors and their families fleeing domestic violence, assault and human trafficking.

The impact

During a March 25 news conference, President Emilee Whitehurst spoke on behalf of families who will come to the campus on April 1 seeking safety.

“One Safe Place Houston is where we’re going to showcase what the future looks like and how we can get there together, not in the abstract, but concretely," Whitehurst said. "Every day for every person who crosses the threshold of One Safe Place Houston—survivors, strategic partners, volunteers—we hope you will see and feel healing in the wake of harm.”

The new four-story facility, part of a 5.5-acre campus owned and operated by the Houston Area Women’s Center, will offer wraparound client-centered services for women and children fleeing violence. (Melissa Enaje/Community Impact)
The new four-story facility, part of a 5.5-acre campus owned and operated by the Houston Area Women’s Center, will offer wraparound client-centered services for women and children fleeing violence. (Melissa Enaje/Community Impact)

Features within the four-story facility include:

  • 135 housing apartments for survivors and their children
  • A 24-hour crisis response and assessment center
  • A survivor economic empowerment hub to equip families with financial skills and resources
  • Counseling and mental health services for adults and children
  • A lactation room
  • Teen rooms
  • Child care and day care services
  • Classrooms for a Houston ISD elementary school program

Digging deeper

Elected officials and stakeholders from across the county were in attendance for the ribbon-cutting ceremony and facility tour. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo spoke about the county’s involvement with addressing domestic violence.

“Since 2020, we’ve invested around $23 million in addressing domestic violence throughout the region," Hidalgo said. "That’s not just the Houston Area Women’s Center, but various organizations. Since 2022, [investments] were around speeding up the court backlog on domestic violence issues, helping build infrastructure, child care, mental health support for kids and families impacted by domestic violence. We have an ongoing commitment of $1.5 million dollars of flexible financial support to survivors of domestic violence.”

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo tours the new HAWC facility. (Melissa Enaje/Community Impact)
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, left, tours the new HAWC facility. (Melissa Enaje/Community Impact)

By the numbers

A HAWC report cited the number of crisis response services administered in 2024.

  • 56,501 calls answered on HAWC's sexual assault hotline
  • 974 survivors housed at the residential campus
  • 1,922 legal advocacy clients served
  • 2,112 community members educated on violence prevention