Victoria Constance, Ph.D., is a powerful conversationalist. Talk to her for a few minutes and you’ll be inspired to generously give--to stretch, to do more than you ever have before. It’s an ability fueled by deep conviction and honed by years of presenting her case to potential donors. There’s urgency and a sharp focus to her message: Now is the time. “People are ready to give,” says Constance, and Safe Harbor is ready to move forward with its goal--the construction of a permanent, master-planned facility that will further their mission to bring justice and restoration to the lives of abused children.
Constance is the executive director and CEO of the board of directors of Children’s Safe Harbor. The organization’s service area spans Montgomery, Walker and San Jacinto counties, and it provides victims and their non-offending caregivers with the help they need to regain control of their lives-- medical services, mental health services, forensic interviewing, victim advocacy and family advocacy—all under one roof. Children’s Safe Harbor co-houses local law enforcement, prosecution, child protective services case workers, and Children’s Safe Harbor staff members –all working as one cohesive unit. No other nonprofit organization works under this centralized, entirely child-focused model, explains Constance.
“We are the collaborator, the glue, that keeps children and their families from falling into the cracks of the criminal and civil justice systems. Our children’s advocacy center program allows child abuse investigations to get underway without kids having to be in a police station or CPS office. We are that safe space, we are that safety net,” says Constance. Their current facility can no longer handle the rising case load, she says.
But a planned capital campaign for the new building had to be put on hold during the height of the pandemic in 2020. Then, in February 2021, the campaign was restarted, only to be halted again when Winter Storm Uri wreaked havoc across Texas. Now, with the campaign in full gear, the energy is palpable and the need is greater than ever for construction of the new facility to begin, she says.
Constance says that child sexual abuse cases have spiked during COVID, and the pervasiveness of Internet crimes against children is growing. Children and their families are arriving at the center after experiencing ever greater violence and more complex trauma. She says the new facility is meticulously designed to support the needs of these traumatized children, down to separate care spaces, with size and scale variations based on the age of the child.
When a child crosses the threshold into the new building, says Constance, “it should not feel like a school, or a police station, or a doctor’s office, which can be perceived as sterile or potentially threatening.” To be situated on 17 wooded acres on Loop 336 in Conroe, everything about the new facility is designed with a child’s perspective in mind—quiet, outdoor reflection areas, indoor areas filled with natural light, a flowing connectivity between the functional spaces of the building. “We have designed a place where someone can come and say, ‘This place saved my child’s life.’ This is what you’re investing in,” she says.
The devastation caused by child sexual assault and trauma can be stated in both personal and economic terms--its effects ripple through the community for years to come, says Constance. She drives home the point to every prospective donor that the new building is an investment in the lives of children that’s ultimately an investment in the future for all of us: “It’s not just a building, it’s a gateway!”
“Yes, people want to invest in our children’s advocacy center to help kids. But when we tell about our entire impact, they reply, ‘You’re telling me that I’m going to be able to help with health, education, business, and heart disease as well? And I look them squarely in the eye and say, ‘Yes, you will.’ That’s why the opportunity being offered to potential donors is so unique.”