HCWC Continues Serving Victims Of Abuse Amid Crisis

Staff Reports

On Thursday, March 26, the Hays-Caldwell Women’s Center announced it will continue to serve victims of abuse during the COVID-19 Crisis. 

HCWC has made adjustments to ensure the safety of victims of abuse and the staff who serve them and is available to help women, men, and children who live, work or go to school in Hays or Caldwell County. 

“For weeks we’ve planned and researched diligently to find the best ways to continue our commitment to safety and the quality of service victims of abuse and the community deserve,” said Marla Johnson, HCWC Executive Director. “By sharing resources with statewide and national partners and utilizing the creativity of our dedicated staff members, we have reworked all of our emergency services and found ways to continue services for current clients while maintaining social distancing.  We are increasing our digital communication to educate the public about the effects of abuse. All HCWC staff members are working onsite or offsite to provide the best services possible.”

The center’s emergency services include their 24-hour HELPLine for crisis calls, 24-hour hospital response, emergency child forensic interviews, and their 24-hour emergency shelter.

• 24-hour HELPLine – victims of abuse may call 24 hours a day for crisis counseling at 512-396-4357(HELP); a trained professional will be taking all calls to talk confidentially, provide safety planning and connect to resources available. During times of high call volume, HCWC may take a number and arrange for another advocate to call back as soon as possible.

• 24-hour Hospital Response – when a victim goes to the hospital for a sexual assault exam or family violence, HCWC plans to send a trained staff member or volunteer to accompany the victim throughout the process.  This has been HCWC’s practice for over 40 years. 

• Emergency Forensic Interviews – only law enforcement or child protective services can refer a child for an emergency forensic interview when there are allegations of child abuse; interviews are provided only by one of our trained forensic interviewers at Roxanne’s House, our children’s advocacy center.

• McCoy Emergency Family Shelter – for victims of family violence from Hays or Caldwell County in imminent danger and in need of emergency shelter for themselves and their children, the shelter is open and staffed 24 hours daily.

Currently, HCWC is not taking donations of items and there are no volunteers or visitors onsite to minimize exposure.  

According HCWC, they are committed to continuing to work with the people who were already receiving critical services by finding new ways to provide counseling and advocacy.

The center is reaching out via telephone and video options with safety protocols in place to ensure client safety.

Additionally, HCWC is ramping up its education and prevention work utilizing digital platforms.

Visit the website www.hcwc.org for information on services and resources available to the community and the educational website www.stopthehurt.org for educational content, videos, quizzes, and articles for everyone. 

“We know this is a hard time for everyone.  We know this is especially difficult for victims of abuse and we remain committed to providing support. We’ve all been put in a position that makes us feel unsafe and confused about the future, but there is hope. So many people are working hard to ensure there is a safety net.  We remain optimistic that we can all be a part of efforts to build Healthy Communities in Hays and Caldwell Counties,” said Johnson.

The Hays-Caldwell Women’s Center has a 42-year history of serving women, men and children in Hays and Caldwell Counties who are victims of family violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and child abuse.