By Anthony Lucido, Senior, Fort Worth, TX
The Women’s Center of Tarrant County was founded in 1979 by Karen Perkins, the Board President who became the Executive Director until her retirement in 2004. It was designed to be a nonprofit organization whose purpose was to “address significant problems of violence, crisis, and poverty experienced by women and families in Tarrant County.” Their programs help both women, men, and children with services that aid victims, educate the community, and find employment opportunities. Since the beginning, the Women’s Center has grown on all fronts to include more staff, volunteers, donors, and community outreach helping countless people through tough times.
But at its humble origins, it began with a volunteer-led helpline and employment program. Initial services included an information and referral line for women in crisis and transition, education workshops and seminars, and individual employment assistance. A year later, they were able to add a small rape crisis program to their list of services.
Throughout the ’80s and ’90s, they slowly began to grow and reach out through numerous partnerships and a variety of new programs and events. Play it Safe!® was formed to help children recognize and report abuse (1983), the “Men Who Love Women” Benefit was founded by the husbands of the board members and became an annual event (1989), and the annual “friend-raising” Cultivation Lunches (1996) and Victory Over Violence Walk/Run (1997) began. They also became a United Way Partner Agency and their Project Self-Sufficiency program, that helped impoverished women and families off welfare, was recognized as an exemplary national model in 1988. In 1993, Project Self-Sufficiency was combined with Jobs Now!, a job placement program, to form what is now known as Employment Solutions. With a growing staff they moved to their new location on Hemphill Street and even opened a full-service office in the Arlington Human Services Center.
In 2000, their Rape Crisis and Victim Services won a national best practice award for partnering with the Arlington Police Department. Rape Crisis and Victim Services would then expand to include children’s and group counseling and attorney-paralegal services. Partnerships at the time included the “Fort Worth Initiative,” which along with four other organizations, took funding from the Rockefeller Foundation “to build organizational capacity of employment programs for low-income people,” and Cook’s Children Hospital to help children in homeless shelters. One of their most recent programs, PEARLS, was founded in 2016 for older adults suffering from depression and isolation. The program won a National Association of Area Agency on Aging Award for Aging Innovations and Achievement in 2020. In the midst of the pandemic, the Women’s Center continued their tireless work with virtual services.
In 2021, they served 81,332 women, men, and children. Rape Crisis and Victim Services reported 3,556 children and adults served, Violence Prevention and Education aided 75,054 people, Counseling and Resource Connection: 2,425, and Employment Solutions: 297. The organization currently cites the following statistics on its website:
- 63% of Jobs NOW! clients became employed at an average wage of $16.37/hour.
- 75% of clients who found jobs were still employed at one year.
- 90% of clients receiving therapy achieved at least 75% of their goals to heal from the trauma of violence and/or improve their emotional and behavioral health.
- 100% of socially isolated older adults in the PEARLS program improved their depression by an average of 79%.
- 88% of kids tested after participating in the Play it Safe!® program demonstrated: an increased knowledge of sexual abuse and an awareness that it is not a child’s fault and increased self-protecting knowledge/skills and the likelihood they would tell a trusted adult about abuse (33 disclosed to a Women’s Center trainer).
Over the past forty years, the Women’s Center of Tarrant County has been a pillar of its community gaining national awards and recognition for its service. With constantly evolving institutions and programs that help victims in all capacities from recovery, education, and employment, the Women’s Center has become a model and an ideal for similar nonprofits around the country. And throughout this long history, the staff, volunteers, donors, board members, and partners have remained dedicated to their mission: “To Inspire and Empower Women, Men, and Children to Overcome Violence, Crisis, and Poverty.”
For more information, please visit:
https://www.womenscentertc.org/about/
https://www.womenscentertc.org/our-impact/
https://www.womenscentertc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/TWC-Annual-Report.2021.Website.Final_.pdf