Texas Advocacy Project, Inc.

Access to legal services is statistically proven to be the only social service that decreases family violence in the long-term. In particular, the Journal of the American Medical Association found that helping a victim of domestic violence get a protective order makes it 80% less likely that she will be abused again than a woman without similar legal protection.

Texas Advocacy Project’s mission is to prevent domestic and dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking throughout Texas through FREE legal services, access to the justice system, and education. Our attorneys, staff, volunteers, and Board of Directors are committed to advancing our vision that all Texans live safely in hope, not fear.

Established in 1982 by a group of young lawyers, Texas Advocacy Project (The Project) started as a legal hotline. After receiving an overwhelming number of phone calls from women in abusive situations trying to figure out how the legal system could help them escape, it evolved into a critical resource for Texans facing domestic violence issues. Beginning in the 1990's, The Project responded to requests from its collaborating partners to provide domestic violence legal services, in addition to the hotline.

In the decades since, The Project has evolved into an expert on legal issues affecting survivors. Today, we provide a range of legal and advocacy services, including working directly with victims, partnering with over 96 domestic violence and sexual assault shelters, law enforcement agencies, schools, and courts across Texas. The Project’s robust outreach is targeted at under-served populations such as minorities and teenagers and we specialize in helping victims who have been turned down by their local legal aid service provider.

We provide a range of legal and advocacy services proven to break the cycle of violence. We deliver effective legal services such as advice and counsel through our legal lines and video conference equipment, assistance with protective orders, assistance in pro se (self) representation, direct representation, and impact litigation.

The attorneys who staff our statewide toll-free Legal Line (1-800-374-HOPE) provide initial consultations and legal advice. Our staff attorneys prepare customized legal documents for protective orders and divorces and offer on-going legal advice about the court process. And our Assisted Pro Se (APS) services provide individualized legal assistance to victims in counties all over Texas. We provide Direct Representation for the most lethal and complex circumstances. When patterns of injustice emerge in various Texas counties, our direct representation cases become opportunities for us to apply Impact Litigation, affecting countless others who otherwise would have faced extreme barriers.

Partnering with Austin Police Department, Project attorneys provide Emergency Protective Order (EPO) services which assist victims we serve following the arrest of an offender. Using trauma informed skills, we contact victims and offer assistance with safety planning and obtaining an EPO.

Additionally, we maintain an active outreach program which raises awareness, especially to at-risk groups like students. And our active training department brings vital information about legal rights of survivors and other important topics to advocates that work with survivors such as school administrations, law enforcement, military, health care providers, judges and prosecutors.

We spread awareness and engage the community with our signature “Hope” outreach campaigns. Through Handbags for Hope, we work with Travis County Sheriff’s Department and collect purses from drop-off locations all across the state. Each handbag is fitted with a discreet tag with our Legal Line (1-800-374-HOPE) and filled with legal information and economic empowerment pamphlets. The purses are delivered to shelters across Texas in time for kids to give them to their moms on Mother’s Day. Backpacks for Hope is a similar campaign, but for collecting backpacks and school supplies for children in shelters, in time for the start of school. Holidays for Hope, is our gift collection drive for families nominated by our staff attorneys. And Teen Ambassadors of Hope is an innovative 6-month long campaign to provide training on healthy relationships, teen dating violence, positive social media presence, and leadership skills to teens.

We also work closely with and participate in programs such as Allstate Purple Purse, to bring awareness to financial abuse and empowering survivors with the necessary steps to gain financial independence.

The Project employs 24 staff, 20 full-time and 4 part-time, the majority of whom are attorneys experienced in providing legal assistance to survivors of domestic violence.

Additionally, we share our expertise and empower our network of shelters and advocates across Texas through training & outreach. We provide multi-disciplinary training's to medical professionals, judges, prosecutors, law enforcement, school administrators and students. We also provide outreach to Universities throughout the state in order to help this at-risk community understand their rights when a sexual assault occurs on campus. Since 2007, The Project has hosted Virtual Legal Clinics, where survivors can meet "face-to-face" with an attorney through a secure video conferencing portal.

Our Chief Executive Officer, Heather Bellino, is a member of several committees, including Texas Council on Family Violence’s Public Policy Committee, which addresses the response to family violence in our state and provides feedback and guidance on measures that will be presented to the Texas Legislature. In addition, she is a member of the Project Safe Expert Panel, funded by the Criminal Justice Division of the Governor’s Office, which is charged with addressing the relationship between domestic violence and child abuse and neglect.

The Project serves all Texans without regard to socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age or physical disability. The Project helps survivors through free legal advice and counsel as well as with civil issues that affect abuse cases such as housing, employment, education and financial empowerment.

In 2019, The Project provided free legal services in 4,738 cases, helping 10,659 Texans in 156 counties. Of the primary victims served in 2019, this included 386 disabled, 380 veterans, 31 active duty military, and 153 that were 19 years old or younger. An overwhelming number of our clients are the poorest of the poor, in 2019, 2,444 (52%) reported no income at all and 3,866 (82%) were living at or below 125% of the Federal Poverty Level.
• The attorneys who staff our statewide toll-free Legal Line (1-800-374-HOPE) provide initial consultations and legal advice. In 2019, we answered 7,671 calls.
• Our attorneys help clients through Assisted Pro Se (self-representation) services, which provide individualized legal assistance to victims.
• We provide Direct Representation for the most lethal and complex circumstances. Last year we closed 34 of these cases. When patterns of injustice emerge in various Texas counties, our direct representation cases become opportunities for us to apply Impact Litigation, affecting countless others who otherwise would have faced extreme barriers.
• Our attorneys host Virtual Legal Clinics for shelter clients using a proprietary secure video conferencing portal.
• Partnering with Austin Police Department, Project attorneys provide Emergency Protective Order (EPO) services ("stay-away" orders that keeps the offender away from the victim for a long enough period of time for the victim to figure out what to do next). Using trauma informed skills, we contact victims and offer assistance with safety planning and obtaining an EPO. In 2019, The Project helped 898 people receive an EPO, impacting 1,505 household members.
• The Project extends its impact through a network of outreach and trainings. In 2019, The Project provided free trainings to 5,515 individuals including judges, prosecutors, crime victim services personnel, legal advocates, medical professionals, universities and students.
• We work with youth in our Teen Outreach Program, which in 2019 provided training on healthy relationships, teen dating violence, online safety and leadership skills to 2,159 teenagers.

As we move forward, Texas Advocacy Project will continue to expand our outreach efforts in order to reach more survivors, including under-served populations such as minorities, teenagers and those in rural locations. The Project will continue to provide FREE legal services both in person and virtually, but expect to see a major expansion in virtual legal services in order to increase access to justice.