PLEASANTON, Texas — Often times, it's the smallest towns that have the largest need. In Pleasanton, that holds true.
"Things have been growing and we heard the demand," Rhonda Williamson said.
It's a growth that's bittersweet for the executive director who recently helped open the only domestic violence shelter between San Antonio and Corpus Christi, Safer Path Family Violence Shelter.
"We've been at capacity frequently since March," Williamson said. "We've provided over 1,000 nights of shelter. This is huge for us. 27 years of our clients saying, 'Hey we have to have a shelter."
While they've fulfilled that need, the work is far from over. Last week, Congressman Henry Cuellar granted Safer Path $450,000 to provide transitional housing for those escaping a domestically violent situation.
In a rural area where affordable housing is limited, Williamson said the money is significant. "The abuser may have trashed the place from where they were renting or they have broken leases, which looks negative on rental history record. We will be able to pay the rent for our clients for six months."
Resources that will change the lives of the families that walk through these doors and enter a place that will never stop fighting for them.
"This work is never going to be done; changing the trajectory of a family is the hardest thing anyone can do," Williamson said. "I want to put every resource behind making sure they [the families] have what they need to step out of that and learn a new way of living."
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