The Texas Bar Foundation awarded a $10,000 grant to the East Texas Crisis Center (ETCC) to strengthen its Coordinated Community Response (CCR) efforts for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault across East Texas. During the 12-month grant period, the funding supported collaboration with community partners, professional training initiatives, and system improvements designed to enhance survivor safety and offender accountability.

Through grant-funded activities, ETCC expanded its partnership with the CHRISTUS Mother Frances Nursing Residency Program, providing training on intimate partner violence, coercive control, lethality indicators, and trauma-informed care. CCR staff also delivered expert testimony in three court cases, helping educate legal professionals on the dynamics of domestic violence and survivor behavior.

ETCC facilitated two Domestic Violence High Risk Team meetings, bringing together multidisciplinary partners to coordinate interventions in high-risk cases and prevent serious injury or homicide. The CCR Team also led and participated in Sexual Assault Response Team meetings and worked alongside law enforcement, probation departments, prosecutors, and healthcare providers to address systemic gaps, including access to sexual assault nurse examiners and strangulation response protocols.

Through this $10,000 investment, the Texas Bar Foundation helped strengthen partnerships, increase awareness of coercive control and lethality risk, and advanced a more coordinated, survivor-centered response across the region. The relationships and systems improvements developed during the grant period provide a strong foundation for continued collaboration and lasting change for survivors in East Texas.

“A coordinated response is critical in cases of intimate partner violence, particularly those involving high-risk or lethality factors. Without it, survivors can be misidentified, retraumatized, or further harmed by the very systems meant to protect them. Through this grant, we are able to facilitate real-time collaboration, share critical information across partners, and advocate for outcomes that reflect the full context of abuse.

The impact extends beyond individual cases; it strengthens accountability, improves system response, and builds a safer, more informed community. We are grateful to the Texas Bar Foundation for investing in a model that not only addresses immediate crises but also drives long-term systemic change.”

– CEO, Nichole Henry