Your Privacy & Your Rights
Last updated: pending Board approval
Important: East Texas Alliance of Hope does not guarantee any specific service, benefit, or outcome.
We help connect you with partner agencies. Whether a program can help you, how much, and how quickly is decided by each partner — not by us. We work hard to build strong relationships so more of our neighbors can be served, but final eligibility and availability are always up to the agency providing the service.
How we protect your information
When you share information with East Texas Alliance of Hope, we treat it as private. Only trained Alliance staff who need it to help you can see it. Every time your record is opened or updated, we keep a log.
- Your information is encrypted in transit and at rest.
- We store records on HIPAA-covered infrastructure under a signed Business Associate Agreement.
- Emails containing your information are sent only through our secure Google Workspace account, which is also covered by a signed Business Associate Agreement.
- Records are kept for seven (7) years after your last service, then securely destroyed.
- Our staff receive annual HIPAA training.
Your rights
You have the right to:
- See and get a copy of your record.
- Ask us to correct something you believe is wrong.
- Get a list of who we have shared your information with.
- Ask us not to share certain things.
- Choose how we contact you (phone, text, email, or mail).
- Take back your consent at any time, in writing.
- Be told if there is ever a breach involving your information.
Sharing with churches & partner agencies
The Alliance will never share your information with a church or faith-based organization unless you specifically say we can. This is off by default. You will be asked, and you can say no without affecting the services we help you with.
For our CURE ETX partners (Salvation Army, East Texas Food Bank, Legacy Institute for Financial Empowerment, Burke, Workforce Solutions of Deep East Texas), healthcare providers, legal aid, and government benefits programs, we will ask for your permission before sharing your information with any of them.
In an emergency
East Texas Alliance of Hope is not a medical provider. We cannot provide emergency care. If you are having a medical emergency, call 911. If you are in a mental health crisis, call or text 988.
Questions or complaints
Ashley Berry — Privacy Officer
- Phone: 936-899-7307
- Email: ashley@etxallianceofhope.org
- Mail: PO Box 151114, Lufkin, TX 75915
You may also file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, at hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/complaints. You will not be retaliated against for filing a complaint.
A note on this page
This is a plain-language summary of our Notice of Privacy Practices. The full, legally-controlling version is being finalized by our Board and legal counsel and will be posted here and available in our office when complete.