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WOMEN IN NUMBERS
From serving at-risk communities to cheering on patients, Texas women continue to fight against COVID-19. BY SABRINA LEBOEUF ILLUSTRATIONS BY JESSICA WETTERER
47 Kelly White and Julia Spann, the CEOs of Stop Abuse for Everyone (SAFE), kept the doors of their shelters and sexual-assault clinic open to those in need. Throughout the pandemic, they have kept and increased in-person services to help Austinites facing violence and/or abuse. According to KXAN, SAFE reported an increase in calls about child abuse and domestic violence in March and April, with a 47-percent increase in parenting-related calls.
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20 Since stay-at-home orders were initiated in March, Austin nonprofit Dress for Success says it’s experienced a 20-percent increase in calls. The nonprofit helps unemployed women find a job, offering career-development tools, professional clothes and networking opportunities. To continue assisting its new and existing clients, the nonprofit is raising money by selling T-shirts. So far, they have raised more than $5,000.
Texas Woman's University created the AssistHer COVID-19 Emergency Relief Grant Program to distribute $1 million across 100 woman-owned small businesses in the state. The awarded businesses range from nail salons to boutiques to architecture firms. Seven of the awarded businesses are located in Austin.
50,000 62 Since stay-at-home orders, front-line workers in Texas have been exempt from staying at home and are contributing to the community by providing health-care services, stocking grocery stores and driving public transportation. According to the Texas Tribune, in 11 of Texas’s most populated cities, 62 percent of front-line workers are women. 18 | AUSTIN WOMAN | JULY 2020
Three San Antonio nurses channeled the power of K-pop to cheer one of their COVID-19 patients, Esther. The nurses saw that Esther’s favorite band BTS lifted her spirits, so the trio created a BTS dance video on TikTok. The video went viral, reaching more than 50,000 views.
