Diversity Spotlight: How The Women’s Center of Tarrant County Turns Pain into Possibilities, Struggle into Success and Crisis into Confidence

The Women’s Center of Tarrant County started more than 40 years ago with the same mission they work toward today – to empower and inspire women to overcome crisis and achieve financial stability. And while their core focus hasn’t changed since their founding, they’ve expanded and evolved their services to help women, men and children transform their lives for the better, even in the midst of a pandemic.

Supporting Tarrant County Families Through Crisis and Beyond

In the late 70s, as a wave of women entered the workforce for the first time, The Women’s Center started as a resource to help them overcome the hurdles that came with this change. The center supported women by providing crisis stabilization and resource connection through their helpline and job search training and connections to employment opportunities. The center was unique in that it focused not just on women’s immediate needs, but also on helping them create financially sustainable, successful futures.

Today, the center has grown to provide comprehensive services that address the needs of women, men and children experiencing crisis and dealing with issues of violence and poverty. This multi-pronged approach allows the organization to support their clients in every facet of their lives, including:

• • Financial stability

The organization has a long history of helping women achieve economic freedom. Now, they provide career coaching that helps women and men who are unemployed or underemployed find jobs and build career paths. In the Employment Solutions Program, they see a diverse pool of women and men from all socioeconomic and education levels. Each client in this program receives financial coaching so that once they find jobs, they can manage their income to create a sustainable future for themselves and their families. Case managers connect clients with community resources to help them overcome barriers to employment, such as childcare and transportation issues. Through this program, they’ve seen clients break cycles of generational poverty, move out of crisis and create lasting economic freedom.  

• • Mental health

To help clients handle both long- and short-term adversities, the organization offers a wide range of counseling services. Their General Counseling Program is available to women, men and children. Licensed counselors help clients cope with everyday issues and crisis management involving:

• • • Depression and anxiety
    • Family relationships
    • LGBTQ issues

The center is also the first in Tarrant County to implement PEARLS, an evidence-based program for isolated and depressed older adults. Studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate that 7 million Americans over the age of 65 experience depression each year. PEARLS, provided in partnership with the Tarrant County Area Agency on Aging and Texas Health Resources, is an eight-week, in-home counseling program that helps more than 100 older adults each year overcome their depression and isolation, so they can develop the skills they need for self-sufficiency and lead more active lives.

Through the General Counseling Program, The Women’s Center also provides a helpline that provides crisis intervention and community resource connections. A partnership with Cook Children’s Health Care System supports children and families transitioning out of homelessness, assisting them with life skills classes and resources. And the organization hosts free legal clinics, where lawyers volunteer their time to offer legal advice on issues related to family, estate and tenant law.

• • Healing and Safety

The center is well known for its Rape Crisis and Victim Services Program, which supports women, men and children who have experienced sexual assault, child sexual abuse and other violence through a 24/7 rape crisis hotline and therapeutic counseling services. This support begins as soon as a sexual assault is reported – center staff supports survivors of sexual assault during their forensic exam. From there, survivors of violence – whether it happened one week ago or 30 years ago – can receive counseling to heal from their trauma and restore their lives.

In addition to counseling, the center works to address issues that often surround these incidents. Clients have access to the center’s in-house attorney, who can support them with legal issues that can arise from victimization, as well as provide criminal justice accompaniment. These issues are unique for each individual, but can include domestic violence, custody and even immigration issues.

As a part of the Rape Crisis and Victim Services Program, the organization also focuses on violence prevention and education. They provide training to local law enforcement agencies and community groups on supporting survivors of sexual assault and violence. The center developed an age-appropriate curriculum called Play it Safe!® to teach kids from preschool all the way to high school how to recognize, respond to and report abuse. Taught in local schools by center staff, the program started in 1984 and has reached more than 2 million children. And each year, hundreds of students who hear the program disclose abuse to the center’s staff so they can get help.

Embracing Change and Improving Access to Services

The center services a vulnerable demographic, and the COVID-19 pandemic magnified many issues that clients were already facing. The center noticed a growing need for services. To serve more people, the organization focused on removing as many barriers as possible to their services. The rise in virtual resources was critical to this initiative. The center can now train community partners and volunteers, offer career coaching and continue counseling services through virtual meetings and telehealth appointments. And it improves access to their services, since clients with childcare or transportation hardships can now attend appointments virtually.

The past few years have also underscored the need for organizations to accurately reflect their communities, and The Women’s Center is no exception. They built an internal diversity and inclusion committee to more effectively serve the diverse population of Tarrant County and better understand how different cultural issues affect their client base. One of the biggest improvements that’s come from the committee’s work is the center’s hiring push for bilingual staff to match the languages spoken by the populations they serve.

How You Can Help The Women’s Center

When asked how people could help, Fran emphasized the need for donations. Outside of the small fees the center requests for general counseling and skills training, all of the services discussed above are offered to clients at no cost. Your donations keep these services free for vulnerable members of the Tarrant County community, providing access to life-changing programs. Unrestricted donations allow the center to continue operations and focus services where needed. An online wish list helps the center provide tangible resources to clients, such as the teddy bears that are given to every sexual assault survivor seen in the hospital.

Most of the center’s clients find them through word of mouth or community referrals, so it’s also important to spread the word. One way you can do this is by attending and promoting the group’s fundraising events. The center is hosting one of its biggest fundraisers, the 25th Victory Over Violence Walk/Run, on April 9. All proceeds from the fun, family-friendly event support the services provided by the Rape Crisis and Victim Services program.

When asked about the next 40 years, Fran said the center wants to continue to grow and innovate to transform lives and offer hope to Tarrant County families.

While we’ve made great strides toward removing the stigma and misconceptions around many of the issues the center addresses and encouraging women and men to reach out for help, there’s still a long way to go. The more people support organizations like the center, the more they can bring these issues to light and help people start to heal, move out of crisis and poverty, and build happy, stable lives. That’s why Phelps is so proud to support the organization, and of our Fort Worth Office Managing Partner Claudine Jackson’s extensive work with the group. “Like many, I have family and friends who are survivors of abuse, so when I was introduced to the Women’s Center over six years ago, it was very easy for me to see the importance of the center’s work and mission,” Claudine said. “It is the client stories, however, that show the true positive impact and hope that the center brings.”

In 40 years, the center has made amazing strides, turning pain into possibilities, struggle into success and crisis into confidence for more than 100,000 women, men and children every year. And Phelps stands ready to partner with them as they embark on another 40 years of progress!