SafePlace is just what the name suggests – a place to be safe. Victims of sexual and domestic violence are the ones the agency protects.
News 8 Austin’s Paul Brown spoke with executive director Julia Spann about everything the nonprofit does, beyond just providing shelter.
Q: Tell us about SafePlace.
A: SafePlace is the community’s resource for people who have been sexually violated or experienced domestic violence. Our purpose and mission is to end sexual and domestic violence. As the population increases, you have more people impacted by it. It’s adults, children, men, women – it really impacts everybody in the community. It’s rape, sexual abuse, dating violence, bullying and domestic violence.
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SafePlace
Watch the complete interview with Julia Spann.
 
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Q: Besides the shelter, tell us what you do in the community.
A: SafePlace is about promoting immediate safety, as the name implies. The shelter is a huge part of what we do, but we also work in the community with the county attorney, the courts and the police department to have a really rapid response. We work with hospitals to help with the examination process for people who have been sexually assaulted. We also do an awful lot of healing work to help people rebuild their lives.
Q: As a nonprofit, where does your funding come from? And how can people help?
A: Like many nonprofits, we rely heavily on the community to support us. We’re fortunate that we have a diversified funding base – local and state government, federal funds, but we also rely on the generosity of corporations and individuals.
