BEAUMONT, Texas — Family Services of Southeast Texas needs help from the community to keep their domestic violence shelter in Beaumont open.
Their facility on Fannin St. flooded during Tropical Storms Harvey and Imelda. They've had to evacuate 11 times since the storms.
Now the organization is needing to raise money to build a new facility that is outside of a flood zone.
The organization has the only two domestic violence shelters in the area. One is in Beaumont and the other is in Jasper.
Each year at the Beaumont shelter more than 2,000 domestic violence victims are helped and without the shelter, the organization is worried they may not be able to help as many families.
"Domestic violence is no respecter of persons it happens to everyone," said Community Relations Director Bonnie Spotts.
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Family Services of SETX helped Brenda C. and her kids escape her abusive relationship. She stayed at the Beaumont shelter for a week and received legal advice.
"The only thing I could take out was my children. We were in that situation where I could not take anything, until I talked to legal advisement. Because my situation was really, was a really really bad one," she said.
It's been one trial after another for the organization.
"So eventually I'm pretty sure we would just go away. You know these are vital resources that are needed," Spotts said.
After Tropical storm Harvey flooded their 65 bed shelter in 2017.
"When that happens we have to get commercial buses, and get all of our people on that bus, you know get food, get staff that's gonna go with them and stay with them 24 hours a day," Spotts told 12News.
They raised $2.8 million to renovate the inside.
"It looked fabulous. It was really pretty when we got through. We were in there three months and we flooded again," said Spotts.
Each evacuation cost $30,000 and since 2017 they've had to evacuate 13 times.
Then three months after the grand reopening, Tropical Storm Imelda flooded the shelter again.
The nonprofit's grant donors gave them an ultimatum, saying they must move the Beaumont shelter out of the flood zone or they would not be able to continue providing support.
"Many of our grant funders were starting to say hey this is not a safe place, we'll withdraw funding if you can get to a safe place. So we began to look for somewhere that is outside of the flood zone," Spotts said.
Now, plans have been drawn up for a new $10.8 million shelter that is expected to open by February 2025.
The new facility would have 144 beds and be a place to stay for men, women and children fleeing domestic violence situations.
The group still needs to raise $5 million to make the new facility a reality.
"$5 million is not much to pay for the lives that we will save, you know," said Spotts. "I mean a few years ago you know, Beaumont alone had eight domestic violence fatalities, where women were killed here. And so you know it really is a huge need in our area."
If the group is unable to raise the money, grant donors may stop funding the shelter and it could ultimately put a stop to construction of the new facility.
That situation could mean those needing shelter would to have to go to Houston for services because the Jasper facility can only provide 15 beds.
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This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.