Empower House (formerly Martinez Street Women’s Center) was founded in 1999 with a mission to improve reproductive health services and access for women — primarily brown and Black women — on the East Side of San Antonio.

Since then, the nonprofit has expanded to provide community health services and education, advocacy opportunities, and youth programming – all through the lens of restorative justice.

The nonprofit has also grown to include two locations on the East and West Sides of San Antonio, creating a closer connection to the communities they serve. Today, Empower House welcomes girls and women, as well as trans, femme, nonbinary, gender-nonconforming individuals, and boys in search of connection, healing, and equity. The neighborhoods may have changed, but Empower House is still here.