ALSO| Pflugerville approves SAFE resolution to set rules for AI and surveillance technology<\/a><\/p>\nBerastain announced in May that Eloise House would stop offering forensic exams after Safe lost millions in federal, state, local, and philanthropic funding. The organization also cited working under an unsustainable model. <\/p>\n
“We were responsible for providing 95% of the exams that happened in central Texas. We also had to be responsive, as I mentioned, 24- 7, but we also had to staff as if four or five survivors would come at the same time. That meant that we had to quadruple staff nurses in a shift, even when there might not be anybody who came through doors,” he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe fund the police department, the fire department, emergency services, EMS…Why can’t we make that same commitment to survivors of sexual violence,\u201d Berastain added.<\/p>\n
During the pause at Eloise House, Brave Alliance and hospital partners continued providing forensic exams. The new partnership with Texas Forensic Nurse Examiners is intended to expand survivors\u2019 access to forensic care by adding another provider option.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing able to go to an emergency room and get services by Brave Alliance is really important. But I also think being able to have another option with a multi-provider model is really important to Austin,\u201d said Khara Breeden, founder and CEO of Texas Forensic Nurse Examiners.<\/p>\n
Under the new model, Berastain said less philanthropic funding is needed, and the partnership is designed to sustain the services long term. <\/p>\n
\u201cLet that be a lesson to all of us that forensic exams, that survivor services are not just discretionary; they are core public safety infrastructure,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Austin police said in a statement it supports the partnership: <\/p>\n
“The Austin Police Department has long supported a multi-provider approach to sexual assault forensic exams that expands access to comprehensive, coordinated, trauma-informed care for survivors. We value our longstanding partnership with SAFE Alliance, and its continued advocacy and support services, as well as the vital roles BRAVE Alliance and our hospital partners play in providing forensic exams.<\/p>\n
We welcome the opportunity to work with all providers and community partners through the Sexual Assault Response and Resource Team (SARRT) to coordinate services as this model evolves. Our shared priority remains ensuring survivors have access to quality care and meaningful choices.”<\/p>\n
Breeden said TXFNE plans to offer exams from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. initially, with the possibility of expanding hours based on community need. SAFE\u2019s advocacy services remain available 24\/7; survivors can call the SAFEline at 512-267-SAFE (7233) for support and help understanding their options.<\/p>\n
Forensic exams will begin at the Eloise House again on January 3.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AUSTIN, Texas \u2014 Forensic exams for sexual assault survivors are set to return to Safe Alliance\u2019s Eloise House…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":479052,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133],"class_list":["post-479051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=479051"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479051\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/479052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=479051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=479051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=479051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}