AUSTIN, Texas — The Austin City Council voted Thursday to purchase a hotel to transform into a new family violence shelter to protect survivors of abuse across Central Texas.
The Council says this is the first time in nearly a decade a new family violence shelter has been added to the Austin area.
The idea was originally added to the budget in 2020 and engrained into the 2021-22 fiscal budget unanimously approved by the Council in August.
“This purchase adds new family violence shelter beds in Austin for the first time in more than a decade – this is a long time coming,” said Austin City Council Member Greg Casar. “We must get families and children off of the waiting list, and into a safer place in our community. This is a true investment in public safety.”
The Stop Abuse for Everyone (SAFE) Alliance will be in charge of operating the shelter, making this their second family violence facility. SAFE says their current shelter has 30 rooms and an ever-growing waitlist. This new addition will add 50 more rooms, more than doubling the space available for family violence victims.
“As our community continues to grow, the need for shelter grows with it," said SAFE Co-CEO Julia Spann. “With this incredible commitment from the City of Austin, we will be able to provide more shelter space than ever before. And at this new shelter, SAFE will provide residents with case management, basic needs support (food, hygiene, etc.), children’s services, and many other resources that help families heal and leave shelter with a plan for a safer future.”
The timing of this new addition is requisite too. Reports of domestic violence are up in Austin and across the country. SAFE received 2,394 contacts since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and reported more than 80% are family violence-related.
The organization says survivors are reporting experiencing more severe forms of violence too, and limited space has been a hurdle to help those in need.
The locations of the shelters have not been provided to protect the safety of the victims.
SAFE's hotline number is 512-267-SAFE (7233). You can also text SAFE at 737-888-7233.
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