COMAL COUNTY, Texas — Happening this weekend, the Crisis Center of Comal County will be breaking ground on a new shelter.
Two years ago, its previous shelter caught fire. At the time, its clients and staff escaped the flames. No one was hurt.
The new shelter will be 30,000 square feet, and will care for up to 90 people, women and children who escape violence. CEO Dr. Julie Strentzsch explains how the journey hasn't been easy.
"I think going through the fire, helped me to see what our clients really go through, when they leave their perpetrator," she said. "How hard it is to do that."
On April 13, 2022, the fire destroyed its shelter. At the time, it left the center scrambling to find its own new spot, as well as its for its clients.
"It gave us the vision to rise out of the ashes much like our clients do to create a new future," she said.
The timing for the shelter is critical. Its programs are in high demand. Last year, Strentzsch said it saw a 48 percent increase in clients.
"Last year, we saw a big increase in women with large families," she said. "When you talk about that 48 percent increase, it is not just adults, it is children."
For now, the center is operating on a nearly four acre campus where the new three-story shelter will be built. Its current building, on that campus, used to be the former senior citizens center.
In Strentzsch eyes, the community will help rebuild. However, she even mentioned a more important reminder to the people it serves.
"We got through this, you can get through this," she said.
The center is a hope and lifeline for its clients. According to its latest figures, in the 2023, it served 1,702 clients. 13 percent were from Bexar County. Right now, there's a capital campaign for the new shelter, which they hope to have built in July 2025.