El Paso Matters – West Fund reopens financial aid helpline for abortion services

The only abortion fund in El Paso has returned after a four-year absence.

West Fund relaunched its helpline Monday to assist abortion seekers in El Paso and West Texas pay for their out-of-state healthcare procedures. The nonprofit paused its helpline and let go of its volunteers in summer 2022 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the decision that had protected the right to abortion for nearly 50 years.

During that time, the organization underwent internal reshuffling and sought outside consulting to improve its operations, said Shayla Alves, executive director of West Fund. West Fund also provided grants to two abortion clinics in New Mexico: Full Circle Health Center in Las Cruces and Southwestern Women’s Options in Albuquerque. Those grants helped pay for abortions for 600 patients, Alves said.

“It means a lot to still be here,” Alves said. “There was a moment where I thought West Fund was going to sunset last year, and so the fact that we’re still here and we’re able to come back feels really, really positive and fruitful.”

How does the El Paso abortion fund work?

A group of queer students at the University of Texas at El Paso founded West Fund in 2013, Alves said. The group started with occasional, small fundraisers before turning into a nonprofit corporation. Though abortion was legal at the time in Texas, affordability was an issue and now even more so, she said.

“A lot of folks who end up receiving abortion care are people who are already parents, so childcare, that’s another expense, right?” Alves said. “When you’re living in Texas, now you have to travel out. That’s another expense. So, West Fund was trying to be able to at least cover the procedure and find resources to meet the other needs.”

The organization joins a network of abortion funds across the country, including more than five in Texas, that provide financial assistance to people who cannot afford an abortion. Financial assistance can be for the abortion procedure itself or for logistical expenses, such as transportation and lodging. West Fund provides funding strictly for medical services, but connects clients to other organizations such as Faith Roots Reproductive Action in New Mexico for logistical support.

At West Fund, people can text the phone number 915-233-0064 to connect with the helpline manager, who will provide a link to an intake form asking about what kind of support they’re seeking.

Catalina Camacho, co-founder of Chuco Community Doulas, said she brings her past experience working for a national abortion fund, as well as her current experience as a pregnancy-loss doula to her job as West Fund’s helpline manager.

READ MORE: Pregnancy-loss doulas guide El Pasoans after miscarriage, abortion

Growing up, she heard from people who sought abortions across the border in Ciudad Juárez and later at Planned Parenthood in El Paso. The clinic stopped providing medication abortions after the fall of Roe v. Wade.

“It was way easier, it was, like, a normal thing,” Camacho said. “You would just go there and get your appointment and wow, that sounds so weird to hear now because we’re supposed to be doing better, right? But it’s like we’re going back in time.”

When West Fund stopped taking texts and phone calls, Alves learned that Frontera Fund, an abortion fund based in the Rio Grande Valley, was receiving many callers from El Paso. Alves said this bit of information felt like a “dagger to the heart.”

“West Fund was not able to show up for our community in the way that we should have, and so I have to shout out Frontera Fund for their support” Alves said. “It feels now like being able to step back into a space we had left back.”

Texas politics challenge abortion funds

West Fund is made up of two employees – Alves and Camacho, two contract workers, and a three-person board. Alves said West Fund plans to hire a community organizer this year and is seeking additional board members.

Abortion funds tend to be small organizations, said Cristina Parker, spokesperson for Lilith Fund, an Austin-based abortion fund that services clients in Texas. Adding another option for assistance in West Texas will benefit the people who live in that region the most and fill in a gap in Texas, she said.

“In 2025, we gave away more than $2 million and it still was not enough,” Parker said. “It just shows you the scale. Still, the need is so great.”

Amanda Diaz, executive director of Faith Roots Reproductive Action, said the inconsistent ebb and flow of funding remains one of the biggest challenges for abortion funds.

“If I can speak to the ecosystem of abortion funds as a whole, there was a whole lot of, they call it rage giving, after Roe fell,” Diaz said. “There were funds that were started from the influx of money and now they’re running out of funds and having to close their doors.”

Families are struggling economically, Diaz said. In border states and across the country, people are experiencing the increased presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. People are putting their dollars in different support networks because there are so many more needs than just medical care right now, Diaz said.

Faith Roots primarily supports people traveling to New Mexico for abortion, most of whom live in banned states. From January to May of this year, Faith Roots served more than 300 clients from nine different states, with people from Texas making up the vast majority.

The surge in ICE activity has made some abortion seekers afraid to travel to seek routine medical care, let alone travel long distances to get reproductive healthcare they can’t find in their community, Diaz said.

In some ways, abortion funds in Texas were already prepared for the federal dismantling of abortion rights, Parker said.

Texas Senate Bill 8 passed in 2021 criminalized physicians from performing an abortion in almost all cases and allowed private citizens to sue anyone who “aids and abets” an abortion in the state. It does not apply to out-of-state abortions.

West Fund opens community space in El Paso

From a teal-painted rental house in Central El Paso, Alves and Camacho had a Spotify playlist pulled up as they prepared for West Fund’s hotline relaunch, as well as an open house scheduled for Aug. 15. Inside, the wood flooring and mismatched armchairs gave it a homier atmosphere than an office.

Aside from donations, one of the most helpful ways to support West Fund is just to spread the word and let people know the abortion fund exists, Camacho said. West Fund is also open to collaborating with other organizations and events, she added.

Burnout had been a problem at West Fund in the past and something they wanted to address during the helpline pause, Alves said. But during that time it felt like West Fund was also straying away from its original purpose, she said.

“I would love for this to be a space where folks feel supported and excited about the work they’re doing,” Alves said. “I also want this to be a community space and for us to have a presence in the community and for folks to be like, ‘Oh, yeah, West Fund, I know who that is’ or ‘I know my friend needs help, I can hit up West Fund.’”

Artwork and banners hung on the walls, along with a Pride flag. “The magic of community is with you forever,” reads one collage. White paper zines about vaginal health sit stacked on one side.

Alves described intersectionality as a fundamental part of West Fund’s work.

“Everyone needs abortion access, right?” Alves said. “It transcends race, it transcends age, it transcends gender, it transcends class … Also, it’s not just for people in America or people who are documented or people who speak English, right?”

“And even people who may not necessarily be ideologically aligned with us also need abortion access,” she continued. “I want to keep that in mind, too, to ensure everyone understands that ultimately, abortion care is healthcare.”

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