HOUSTON (KIAH) — Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, along with community leaders were part of the groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday at the Houston Area Women’s Center Flagship Campus (HAWC).

The facility, located in the 3000 block of El Camino St. will triple the number of individuals HAWC safely houses each night. It is a part of an agency expansion, created in direct response to the soaring rates of family violence in Houston, as local, life-saving services are at capacity.

It will include new and easier pathways for clients to utilize services, a reimagined residential campus, and neighborhood-based survivor empowerment hubs.