Long-term shelter for domestic violence survivors could be coming to Beaufort County

by Aaron Dixon

BEAUFORT COUNTY, S.C. (WTOC) - A new shelter for women and children escaping domestic violence could soon open in the Lowcountry — but organizers say they need the community’s help to get it across the finish line.

Right now, Beaufort County has just one emergency shelter for women and children in domestic violence situations, and Jasper County has none. Leaders with Brillo de Mujer Home say their goal is to fill a major gap in services by creating a longer-term home for survivors after they leave an emergency shelter.

“The need is way greater than I think we understand.”

Liz Duncan, vice president of Brillo de Mujer Home, said the more people hear about the project, the more they realize domestic violence impacts those closer to them than they may have thought.

“We didn’t think we knew anyone that this kind of impacted, but the longer that we go down this road, more and more people are like it’s the person next door and it’s people that we have known for a long time,” Duncan said.

Hopeful Horizons, an organization that supports domestic violence victims in the Lowcountry, reports it handles about 500 to 600 domestic violence cases each year — and staff say many more incidents are likely never reported.

A bridge after emergency shelter

Brillo de Mujer Home President and Co-Founder Lindsey Clark said the nonprofit doesn’t want to replace existing services — it wants to support them by offering a stable next step.

“We want to be the next step to where, when the women get out of emergency shelter, they can come to us for the long-term,” Clark said. “Where they have a home and where we can connect with resources to rebuild their lives.”

Clark said research shows it can take seven to eight attempts for someone to successfully leave an abusive relationship. Organizers hope the home can provide added stability during that transition by connecting families with local resources already in place.

“Our idea is not to reinvent the wheel,” Clark said. “We want to connect these women to things that already exist, amazing resources in our community. We want to be that bridge and build that bridge.”

What’s left: funding to finish renovations

Clark and Duncan said they already have the building, have formed partnerships with local groups, and even have furniture ready to fill the space. The major obstacle now is funding to complete renovations and make the building livable.

They said grant funding options were limited because some grants require the organization to already be operational.

“Obviously, we can’t begin to operate until we make the building a home,” Clark said.

Organizers say their goal is to offer more than a bed for the night.

“We don’t want to just offer a roof over their head,” Clark said. “We want to offer a place they can truly heal and truly receive what they need to go live out on their own.”