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Well, good morning. I'm Congressman Greg Cassar. I'm proud to represent Austin and Travis County

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in the United States Congress. And today, I would like to deeply thank our friends at

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SAFE alongside Travis County leaders for bringing this vision to life. We were just talking

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about how back when I was on the city council, we were talking about how we could keep

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survivors safe on this piece of property and add housing onto this property, we've been

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talking about that for seven or eight years.

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And today my office is proud to deliver a million dollars in federal funding to make

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sure that families in Austin are safe from domestic violence, sexual assault, and homelessness.

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The Sasha, which this million dollars will help complete, is 60 new homes on

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safe campus serving nearly 250 survivors at a time. For those families, these

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homes are not a statistic. They're a safe place for an Austin kid to do their

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homework and just be a normal child. A safe place for survivors to heal and

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to rebuild, a safe place for families to be together, sometimes three generations under

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one roof.

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The Sasha comes with counseling and legal help and support services for our kids.

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Too many women and children in America feel like they have to choose between being safe

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at home or having a roof over their head.

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And here in Travis County, we're helping make sure that women and kids don't have

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to make that choice.

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That no one should have to choose to try to go sleep under a bridge in order to be safe

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from violence and abuse back at home.

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Because safety is not a luxury.

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Every single family deserves it.

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Housing like this ripples throughout an entire community.

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It reduces homelessness.

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It keeps people housed instead of having people cycle in and out of homelessness

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or in and out of the emergency room.

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And most importantly, it makes us all safer.

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We've seen from permanent supportive housing

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and supportive housing projects like this

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that we have seen a rest drop in some cases more than 70%

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once we make sure that people have a safe place to live,

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a safe place to go.

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Of course, we work constantly to improve our 911 response

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in this community. But we also want to make sure that fewer people have to call

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911 in the first place because they have a safe place to live and a safe place to

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go. The Sasha of course is just one more piece of the incredible work that Safe

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does in this community and it won't be the last thing that we invest in and it

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won't be the only piece of work that we fund at the federal county city level.

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We do enormous good in this community together.

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Some of us were just talking about how it was just a few years ago that we worked with

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SAFE to clear the scandalous rape kit backlog in this community.

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Or how at the city and local level, we realized there was this huge waiting list for shelter

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shelter, and we purchased an old empty hotel and made sure that we have expanded shelter

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capacity in this community.

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And now we know that we have a huge shortage of permanent supportive housing, including

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for families and survivors of abuse and the Sasha is going to help us tackle that challenge.

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So even though in Washington, D.C., there's gridlock and there are so many problems in

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Washington, D.C.

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I'm committed.

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We're committed to making sure that when Austinites pay their federal taxes that some of that money comes home to do something good

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At a time where we're spending billions of dollars on wars of choice that don't seem to make anyone safer

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This is an example of how if we bring some of that money home if

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Instead of spending our money on war or in bombs or tax breaks to the ultra wealthy

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policy, we can actually spend our taxpayer money making our lives better, making our

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community safer, reducing homelessness, reducing violence.

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And that's exactly what we're doing with this million dollars.

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But we don't do that alone at the federal level.

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We need partners here at the local level who will make sure your dollars are spent

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responsibly, who know what the highest impact projects are.

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And the first person I call in all of Travis County with that question is your county judge,

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our leader here in Travis County, Andy Brown, and we would not be able to have done this

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without him and his leadership.

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So I'm proud to call up Judge Brown.

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Thank you, man.

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Great to see you.

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I want to say thank you to SAFE, thank you to Congressman Kassar, to our community

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partners and everyone who helped make the Sasha a reality.

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Today is really about celebrating what's possible when we all come together with

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a shared commitment to protecting our neighbors and building a stronger community.

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For so many decades, SAFE has been a lifeline for survivors of domestic violence, sexual

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assault, child abuse, and human trafficking.

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And Travis County is proud to help build upon this legacy with investments this year

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so far of $1.5 million with federal ARPA money to help the ship investment, as well

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as the ship investment of $7.2 million again, ARPA Money, dedicated towards safe Lancaster

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development. The work of SAFE has transformed lives across central Texas, and today we're

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building on that legacy. We know that violence and homelessness are deeply connected. For

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too many survivors, leaving an abusive situation can also mean losing the safety

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and stability of a home. And nobody should have to choose between escaping violence

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and having a place to sleep.

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That's why the Sasha is so important.

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This isn't just another housing development.

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It's a place where survivors can begin to heal,

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rebuild, and create a brighter future for themselves and their families.

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When it's fully occupied, we're going to have nearly 250 survivors,

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including children, parents, and even grandparents,

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who will have access to safe, stable housing

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and the support they need to move forward.

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Projects like this are a great investment in our community.

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When we provide stable housing and wraparound services, we improve health outcomes, we reduce

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the strain on emergency systems, and we reduce the strain on our county jail, which has been

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going up in population since the pandemic.

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And it's through supportive housing like this unit and others, that's the only way

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that we're going to ever reduce that number in our jail.

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So I just want to thank Congressman Greg Gissar and the federal government for

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all of your help and leadership on this. And I will turn it over to our buddy,

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Commissioner George Morales. Thank you, George. Thank you, Congressman.

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So I want to start off by saying thank you to Congressman Cassar and our

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county judge, any brown.

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For your safe alliance has been a beacon of hope, providing a life

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changing violence prevention services to children, family and individuals

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throughout our community. Because of its unwavering commitment, countless

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survivors have found a place where fear is replaced with safety, despair, with hope,

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and healing. As the needs of the community continue to grow, Safe Alliance remains a

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leader in both vision, compassion, continually assessing emerging needs, and boldly expanding

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its programs to ensure that every person seeking assistance has the opportunity to rebuild

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their life with dignity and support. My wife is an employee of SAFE. She has 16

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years of service here, 14 as a parent team specialist at the old building, two

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and a half years here as the basic needs coordinator in this warehouse.

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SAFE Alliance holds a very special place in my heart. Throughout its

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remarkable growth in Austin. I had a privilege of witnessing its impact

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firsthand during my year serving as both the police officer and constable.

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Time and again, I saw the extraordinary compassion of its staff,

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its volunteers and the critical services it provides. I saw a lot done

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in our community with safe.

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You are continually a beacon of hope, especially in our precinct for

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community that I wholeheartedly represent.

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Congratulations to the Safe Alliance Board of Directors, dedicate staff and

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incredible volunteers. Your vision, compassion and steadfast commitment

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continue to meet our community's greatest needs with courage and grace.

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The Sasha is more than a building. It is a symbol of hope, resilience, new

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beginnings. And because of your leadership, generations to come will

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have a safe place to heal, to be nurtured and to thrive.

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Thank you so much.

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I'd like to introduce Pierre.

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Good morning, everyone.

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I'm Dr. Pierre Baraste, and I'm the CEO of the Safe Alliance.

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And Congressman Cassar, thank you for being here and helping us secure this one million

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dollar investment in survivors of domestic and sexual violence and their children.

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For more than 50 years, the Safe Alliance has walked alongside survivors of domestic sexual

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violence, sex trafficking, and their children, and we've learned something quite simple

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and profound.

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And that is that safety requires a place to live.

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We often hear survivors asked, why didn't you leave?

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Why were you in the relationship for so long?

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But that question assumes that there was somewhere safe for them to go.

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And violence is accompanied by financial abuse, by isolation, by damaged credit, disrupted

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employment, isolation from family and friends and community, and leaving an abusive relationship

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It may mean abandoning everything familiar to that individual and that family.

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It may mean choosing between a dangerous home or no home at all.

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And domestic violence and homelessness are not separate crises.

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For many survivors, in fact, they are part of the same crisis.

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You see, every 20 minutes, someone in our community reaches out to our crisis line.

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Every 20 minutes.

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And the most common request is housing.

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Over half of those waiting for emergency shelter in our waitlist are children.

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Over half of those in our housing are children.

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Now I am heartened to know that our nation is beginning to recognize the scale of this

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housing challenge, right?

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Congress came together just this July and worked together across political lines, right?

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to pass the 21st century road to access to housing act and that I think is a

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powerful reminder that even in a divided time as you mentioned even in gridlock

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we can still choose to build something together for our communities. Housing is

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where stability begins and access to housing must include safe housing for

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survivors of domestic and sexual violence and their children. For someone

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escaping violence, housing creates that distance from the harm they've experienced, it creates

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the time to heal, the stability for their children and their lives to begin again.

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The SACHA and the Safe Alliance embody that vision.

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The SACHA will provide, as mentioned, permanent and transitional support of housing for survivors

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and families alongside secure spaces, counseling, legal support, peer support, children services.

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This $1 million investment will help strengthen those supports across safe

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campus. I also want to thank the City of Austin and the Texas Department of

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Housing and Community Affairs for their significant investment in this

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project and of course Julia Stan and Gretchen Ellis, one of our board

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members, Dr. Gretchen Ellis, whose vision has made this possible. We are

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grateful as well to DMA Development, Fortcraft Architecture, Bailey Elliott

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construction and most importantly to the survivors whose wisdom helped shaped what is being built here.

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This is government and community working as they should. Federal leadership building upon

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city and state investment, county partnership, non-profit expertise and survivor wisdom

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coming together around a shared purpose. Congressman Cassar, thank you for believing

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that public service can help create not only housing but freedom. I think together we are

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saying that no survivor should have to choose between violence and homelessness,

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that every child deserves to know a home as a place for safety, and that here in

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Austin and Travis County, beginning again is possible. Thank you. Hello,

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I'm Makani

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Kalk and I stand here today as a survivor of domestic violence, sexual

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assault, human trafficking, and homelessness. For a long time, survival meant making it through

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one more night, one more threat, one more day without knowing what would happen next. It meant

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carrying fear in my body while still trying to parent, find food, diapers, and a way forward.

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I was fighting to survive while trying to protect my child and often felt like the world

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did not see how much danger I was really in.

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I didn't believe that a different life was even possible,

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but when I finally got to safe, I had already been trying to escape violence for over a decade.

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At the time, I was living in a tent with my two-year-old child.

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We had been on the shelter waitlist for more than six months.

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We depended on the kindness of strangers for diapers and food.

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Recreation centers for safe daily showers.

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Shelter space opened only when the threats became lethal.

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Even then, shelter was only a 30-day stay.

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If there was no housing on the other side of those 30 days, it meant going back to the streets.

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Or, if you were lucky, moving from shelter to shelter.

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For a survivor fleeing violence, 30 days disappears quickly.

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Many of us leave the abuse with nothing. No income, no steady work history,

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interrupted education, injuries that were never treated,

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trauma that has been living in our bodies for years.

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By the time survivors make it to shelter, their support systems have already been broken down.

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Isolation is part of the abuse.

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Friends, family, churches, and community may be separated from us, unaware, misled, or

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aligned with the person who harmed us.

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Survivors of domestic violence are not simply experiencing homelessness.

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We are trying to escape danger while healing, parenting, looking for work, finding childcare,

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fighting for custody, and cooperating with prosecution.

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And all of that happens while the person who harmed us is still stalking, following, threatening, or harassing us every time we try to move forward.

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I know that my first attempts at working were messy. I had long gaps in employment, unreliable childcare, and trauma responses I could not control.

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I flinched from the phone ring. I jumped at loud noises. I froze when someone asked me a question. I was not lazy. I was not unwilling. I was injured.

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Trauma had changed the way my brain and body responded to the world, and I needed to heal before I could fully function in the way that the world required me to.

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I needed two things most of all, time and safety.

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I needed time for my body and brain to understand that I was no longer in constant danger.

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I needed time to learn how to breathe again, how to sleep, how to trust, how to parent without fear controlling every decision.

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And I needed safety. Not just a bed for a few nights, but a stable secure place where I could begin to rebuild.

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I needed people around me who also understood what I had been through.

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I needed people who could see the strength it took just to keep going.

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Safety gave me room to breathe, it gave me room to rest, and it gave me room to remember who I am.

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I received a few years of supportive housing from SAFE and for the past five years, I have

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been serving as a peer support specialist.

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Now I get to sit with survivors in moments when they may feel terrified, ashamed, overwhelmed

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or alone, and I get to be the living proof that healing is possible.

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I get to offer the kind of presence I once needed so badly, and I also get to stand

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here today and say deeply and profoundly, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank

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Thank you to everyone who has invested time, money, labor, and care into the development

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of the Sasha.

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This work is not just a project, it is a lifeline, it is going to change lives for people like

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me and the funding you have fought so hard for will create safety that survivors and

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families will benefit from for generations.

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Because when a survivor is given safety and time to heal, she's able to raise children

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who thrive.

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She's able to build stability, community, and hope.

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She's able to become more than what happened to her.

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And that is how we begin to break the chains of violence.

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That is how we continue to stop abuse for everyone.

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So thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

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Thank

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you for sharing your story.

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And I think your story answers so many questions that folks watching at home, I think have

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and ask all the time. When people ask why is it that there's 911 call after 911

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call after 911 call to the same address over and over again. It's because women

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and kids facing abuse in our community have way too few places to go and so

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there's 911 call after 911 call for months or even years. This funding

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helps us fix that. When people ask their elected officials in Austin

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and all the time.

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How is it that we have women and sometimes women and kids sleeping in tents?

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The answer is in your story that there are way too few safe places for people to go and

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that a mom is going to choose a tent to keep their kids safe if they're worried that they

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could be killed back at home.

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This funding helps make sure that we can get families out of tents and into safe

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housing and then the chance to heal to be able to go to work because people want

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to be able to work but sometimes they just need a safe place to get their life

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in order so that they can build a new life. And so that's exactly what this does.

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I also want to thank members of the board and our friends Janine at DMA and

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our local friends at Bailey Elliott for their really important work here. This

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This is something to celebrate, this is something good getting done.

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As Pierre mentioned, I advocated and got this into a budget passed in a Congress with a

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Republican Speaker because there were many items that I requested, and other members

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of Congress requested that were questioned, but this one was not questioned.

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This is something we all agree we need in Austin.

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in housing that keeps people safe, gets people off the streets, and does the right thing

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that I think people at home wish their federal tax dollars were going to much more often.

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And so with that, I think we're going to hand you guys this big check.

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I

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did forget to ask y'all if we covered everything yeah you

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guys should come and get in the picture

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I'm proud that they have more captioning.

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If you can see the camera, they can see you.

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Okay, y'all, thank you guys very much.

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Sorry, was there anything we didn't answer?

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We cover everything.

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You guys can pull us aside one on one, too, if you need.

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Thank you guys so much.

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Yeah man.

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It's, oh, correction Alice.

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Great.

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Great.

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We're saying, Austin Sanders.

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Did you hit the meet-chain first?

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Yeah, right, exactly.

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I just wanted to ask a couple of follow-ups.