By Natalie Townsend
Published in The Williamson County Sun September 21, 2014
On her second day as executive director of Hope Alliance, Patty Connor applied makeup to the bruised face of a woman who was about to leave for a job interview. Ms. Conner gave the woman, who had never had a job and was there with her eight-year-old daughter, interview techniques and tips.
For many of the women at the shelter, this type of support is critical. The non-profit provides the only emergency shelter for victims of family violence and sexual assault in the county, in addition to a 24-hour hotline, legal help, counseling and support groups, accompaniment to hospitals and court and community education. It celebrated its 13th anniversary in April.
The center serves more than 2,700 people a year in the county, but the demand for services far exceeds Hope Alliance’s capacity. The shelter houses 35 women and children at a time, with a maximum stay of 30 days. Even at this rate, Hope Alliance still turns away 40 to 50 families a month seeking a safe haven from difficult circumstances. The shelter has been full for four years, Ms. Conner said.
“There’s a lot of violence and abuse that goes on here [in Williamson County],” Ms. Conner said. “That’s true across the country. Unfortunately, one in six women will be a victim of family violence or dating violence at some point by an intimate partner.”
The women are usually alienated from their family, underemployed or unemployed and without means of transportation. As a result, the women often do not have the financial resources to leave an abusive relationship.
On average, a woman living in an abusive situation leaves the relationship seven times before she leaves for good.
“Thirty days is a drop in the bucket,” Ms. Conner said. “It really is just a baby step of figuring out what her plan is, so she will either go back early in the process during one of the seven times, or she will move to another shelter. “We didn’t used to have a maximum stay, but with so many families being in immediate danger, we had to implement the 30-day limit.”
Before Seeds of Strength donated $20,000 this year to Hope Alliance to pay for a case manager to work nights and weekends, working women had fewer opportunities to receive counseling.
“Without [the grant], there’s a segment of our clients who would not be able to work as efficiently toward their goals,” Ms. Conner said. “They could only see our staff during the day before. Seeds of Strength allowed us to help women nights and weekends. We are available during all waking hours.”
Fourteen years after Ms. Conner helped the woman prepare for her interview, the two met again after a presentation Ms. Conner gave. Crying, the woman pulled Ms. Conner aside afterward and said she was still with the same employer she interviewed with all those years ago, and that her daughter was about to attend college.
“She said we made the difference and that Hope Alliance saved her life,” Ms. Conner said.
To contact the Hope Alliance hotline, call 1-800-7233 (SAFE).