POV: You’re a domestic violence survivor, dealing with grief or post-traumatic stress, or you witnessed a violent incident. You have a ball of emotions built up inside of you, and you’re not sure what to do or where to turn for help. If any of this sounds familiar, Texas’ first trauma recovery center, the Harvest Trauma Recovery Center (HTRC) in Austin, is the solution you’ve been looking for.
Trauma recovery centers provide individualized and holistic care that prioritizes participants’ specific needs by offering psychological and therapeutic services, access to medical and legal support, and immediate needs such as food, clothing, and shelter. This is a national model that has been used for over two decades. The HTRC, which is run by the African American Youth Harvest Foundation, opened its doors on November 1, 2023, at the AAYHF’s resource center located off Highway 290.
“Trauma is an umbrella for a myriad of issues. We want to let them [recipients] know that these services are here, they’re accessible, and we want them to take full and complete advantage of them,” said Dr. Calvin Kelly, the Chief Clinical Officer for the center.
The HTRC offices are located inside the AAYHF’s existing resource center, which gives the trauma patients access to over two dozen other ancillary services and programs that can help with everything from free legal assistance to relocation services. “That’s what makes us unique, I think. When they looked at our grant, they saw that we already had mental health and substance abuse resources, but it allowed us to take it to another level because what they also saw was that we had 25 other resources in the building that could complement our trauma offerings,” said the AAYHF CEO and Founder, Michael Lofton.
Who is Eligible for Assistance at the Harvest Trauma Recovery Center?
- Austin/Travis County Residents
- Ages 5 and up
- Survivors of recent violent crimes (within the last 3 years)
- Must not be involved with other mental health services at the time of enrollment.
Who you can meet with.
An eligible victim/survivor may get counseling from a:
- Licensed Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner
- Licensed Psychologist (PhD)
- Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)
- Marriage Family Therapist (MFT)
- Psychological Assistant
- Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)
- Licensed Professional Counselor Associate (LPC-A)
- Social Worker-Intern (SW-Intern)
The HTRC is located at 6633 US-290, Suite 300 and they are open Mon – Fri 8 AM – 5 PM and 9 AM – 3 PM on Saturday. Visit their website for more information.
