BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Victims of sexual abuse and assault now have place where they can be examined in the Lower Rio Grande Valley.
It’s called Safe H.A.V.E.N. and it’s the latest venture of DHR Health.
HAVEN is an acronym for Helping All Violent Encounter and it’s the second such facility the hospital corporation has today. The first opened in Edinburg in 2017.
This one, however, formally opened on Wednesday, Aug. 27, in Brownsville to serve the residents from Cameron and Willacy counties.
Dr. Javier Cortinas, one of the founding members of the forensic exam center, said having the health care facility is a joint effort by many participants.
“I am very proud to be in charge in this effort to enhance health care services in the region,” he said while crediting the people behind it. “These are specialized nurses trained in providing care with respect and with dignity.
He said back in September 2003, he oversaw an emergency room with two beds, compared to 57 beds today, making it now the largest ER in South Texas.
Cortinas spoke about the importance of having and following the democratic principles people dreamed of.
He referred to the new center as a place “Of the Valley, by the Valley, for the Valley,” echoing President Abraham Lincoln’s famous phrase delivered in his 1863 Gettysburg Address.
The center will provide services for both children and adults who have been victims of abuse and assault and it will be working with the district attorney offices and law enforcement agencies from both counties.
Luis Saenz, the DA in Cameron County, said the DHR initiative to bring a forensic lab here is something he had been looking forward to working with.
“This is a topic we don’t like to talk about but it’s extremely important,” he said. “We are winning the battle but (in reality) we are not.”
Annette Hinojosa, the DA in Willacy County, said she was grateful to know that a center to examine victims of abuse and assault has opened here.
“We don’t have the resources Cameron County has,” she said, ”but the 40 minutes it takes to get here is closing the gap between health care and the justice system.”
Brownsville Police Chief Felix Sauceda extolled the importance of having these services from an operational perspective.
He said the department handles 43 cases of abuse and assault per month.
“It’s unfortunate,” he said, ”but the statistics are real.”
Sauceda said every single day is a challenge and having the new center is a win for all the victims.
But because of the complexity and the touchy situation with such cases, many of them go unsolved.
Saenz said about half of the cases Sauceda mentioned are fully prosecuted.
