Farmington's Family Crisis Center opens protective shelter expansion

A Farmington nonprofit organization that has served women and families who are victims of domestic violence since 1984 has opened an extension of its protective shelter, a new, 2,500-square-foot facility with five bedrooms.

The Family Crisis Center, which provides a variety of services to domestic violence victims and their families, celebrated the opening of the new facility on Oct. 19 with an open house event. The extension is located adjacent to and serves as an extension of the FCC’s existing shelter, Marge’s Place, which opened in 2010.

With the five bedrooms in the new facility, the organization now has 19 bedrooms to offer its clients, according to Opal Cole, the center’s executive director.

“I think it’s very important for the clients we serve,” Cole said of the opening of the new space. “It’s always been important to us to have a comfort level for our clients and provide them with a place where they can feel at home. We’ve done that with Marge’s Place and this facility after that.”

Cole said the FCC board began exploring the idea of expanding Marge’s Place when the COVID-19 pandemic began and many of the shelter’s clients needed to be quarantined. The board explored the idea of leasing a local home for that purpose but ultimately decided that an expansion would work better.

Initially, the plan was to add an extension to the 9,000-square-foot Marge’s Place. But when a nearby office building became available after the real estate company that occupied it moved out, the board decided to acquire that property instead. Now, the two shelters collectively are known as Marge’s Place.

The additional bedrooms are becoming available at a good time, Cole said, explaining that demand for what the center offers is rising.

“In the last year, our numbers have significantly increased,” she said. “We provide approximately 5,000 bed nights a year, and we’ve surpassed that already this year. By the end of the year, we’re going to be closer to doubling that number.”

The reason for that increased demand may not reflect a rise in the number of women or families in abusive situations, Cole said. During the pandemic, the shelter’s numbers fell sharply, so the higher numbers this year simply could reflect a return to normal demand, she said.

Cole said her organization also has been conducting more of an outreach effort in the community, and the higher numbers may be representative of increased awareness about the services the FCC offers.

The new facility includes a spacious dining room/kitchen/family room, a laundry room, an administrative office and three and a half bathrooms to go along with the five bedrooms, one of which is a suite with a private bath designed to accommodate large families. Cole estimated that more than 90% of the clients who stay at the shelter have children.

“We are the largest shelter in the Four Corners area,” she said.

Both shelters are staffed around the clock by advocates, Cole said, and the new facility’s property features a large, attractive courtyard and security gate.

The cost of the new facility was covered largely by funding from the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority, and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act and the American Rescue Plan Act passed by Congress in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

Cole said funding for appliances at the new shelter was provided by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, while Citizens Bank provided additional funding. She expressed her gratitude for all the organizations and individuals who support the center.

The average stay for shelter clients is 45 to 50 days, Cole said, although clients can stay for up to 90 days or longer in some cases. Many of the women who stay there are trying to transition to a new life away from their abuser, while others simply use the shelter as a respite.

“It’s always up to that resident if they want to transition,” Cole said. “ … Some come in multiple times. A lot of victims don’t have the financial means (to live independently), so we try to get them on state aid or work with them on their health issues and we work with housing programs in the community.”

The center also offers counseling services and offers a 24-hour crisis hotline.

“We try to empower and not to dictate,” she said. “It’s always up to the individuals to decide what they want to do.”

Now that the new shelter is open, Cole said she will turn her attention to addressing the center’s staffing issues, noting that the FCC, like many other organizations of its kind around the country, has been struggling to hire licensed counselors since the pandemic ended and the staff returned to work in the office.

The center also is adding a new component to its work, she said, explaining that the organization is making a concerted effort to reach out to and provide services to people who have been trafficked.

For more information, visit familycrisiscenternm.org.

Mike Easterling can be reached at 505-564-4610 or measterling@daily-times.com. Support local journalism with a digital subscription: http://bit.ly/2I6TU0e.

This article originally appeared on Farmington Daily Times: Family Crisis Center now offers 19 bedrooms at two protective shelters