OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS
We have learned alongside our Community Partners as they have faced challenges, overcome barriers, and achieved extraordinary successes. Find out more about each project and the outcomes below.
YEAR
2021
GRANT CATEGORY
Health & Well-Being
GRANT AMOUNT
$90,500
Organization:
Texas Advocacy Project
Project Title:
Addressing the Mental Health and Legal Needs of Domestic Violence Survivors in Texas
Project Description:
Texas Advocacy Project’s mission is to end dating and domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking in Texas. Texas Advocacy Project empowers survivors through free legal services and access to the justice system, and advances prevention through public outreach and education.
With the Impact Austin grant, TAP will hire a full-time Social Worker needed to integrate legal with social services. The grant will cover 64% of the expenses for the full-time Social Worker.
Impact of the proposed full-time Social Worker:
provide 442 victims with case management/crisis intervention/referral services;
address survivors’ mental health and immediate needs(e.g., safety planning);
leverage community partners to provide shelter, housing, healthcare, law enforcement, crime victim’s compensation, and financial support;
provide TAP staff education and training (e.g., trauma, mental health, diversity, equity); and
train college interns to assist in serving additional clients.
Grant Status:
From Jan 1, 2022 to Dec 31, 2022, Texas Advocacy Project delivered services to more than 455 people impacted by abuse, thanks due to the additional social worker made possible by Impact Austin funding. These include mothers and children living in the home. They exceeded their goal of 442 total victims. The social worker directly helped the highest risk survivor-clients with crisis intervention, case management and referrals (emergency shelter, housing, health care, law enforcement, crime victim’s compensation, financial support, etc.) and indirectly helped all clients through staff trainings. Additionally, the TAP social work program oversaw a social work intern program, allowing them to get professional growth experience by helping TAP clients with crisis intervention, case management, and referrals.
Additional benefits and outcomes: * TAP was able to start providing limited crisis counseling services for those who are on wait lists for therapy through other family violence programs. We hope to expand this program further.• When unexpected housing funding came along (Pandemic Emergency Assistance Funds a.k.a “PEAF”) their social work team was poised and ready to immediately meet client needs and provide clients with not just referrals to shelters (emergency housing) as originally anticipated, but help them with long term housing.