Houston Area Women's Center Opens Comprehensive One Safe Place Campus for Survivors

The Houston Area Women's Center has officially opened One Safe Place Houston, a transformative 5.5-acre campus designed to provide comprehensive, trauma-informed services for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and sex trafficking in a single location. The facility represents a significant expansion of services, ultimately increasing capacity to support up to 350 survivors through phased implementation, addressing critical gaps in survivor support services across the region.

The campus features 135 supportive housing apartments alongside integrated on-site services including behavioral health counseling, legal advocacy, medical forensic care, childcare, a Houston ISD elementary school, community gathering spaces, workforce readiness programs, and financial literacy education. This coordinated approach addresses the urgent need for integrated, survivor-centered services in Houston, moving beyond traditional shelter models to create a restorative environment that prioritizes dignity, safety, and healing for individuals and families affected by violence.

GSMA Architects, a Houston-based firm known for community-centered work, led the design process with intentional focus on trauma-informed principles. Every aspect of the campus was developed in partnership with survivor advocates and frontline staff, resulting in spaces that balance privacy with connectivity while centering the dignity of every individual. The architectural design transforms conventional shelter concepts into an empowering environment that tells survivors they matter and are supported by their community through thoughtful spatial planning and design elements.

CORT Furniture Rental partnered with the center to furnish the entire campus, providing high-quality, multi-functional furnishings for residential, counseling, and common areas. The furnishings contribute to creating spaces that feel like home rather than institutional facilities, supporting the overall mission of providing comfort and respect to survivors during their healing journey and reinforcing the center's commitment to dignity-centered care.

This project represents a collective community investment in addressing intimate partner violence and sexual assault as public health and safety issues. The creation of One Safe Place Houston demonstrates what's possible when organizations, design experts, community partners, advocates, and civic leaders collaborate to build not just a shelter, but a future where survivors don't have to choose between silence and survival. The campus stands as a public commitment to the safety and wellbeing of survivors in Houston, offering a coordinated response to deeply rooted community challenges that affect economic stability and public health outcomes across the region.