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The Hays-Caldwell Women’s Center marked the grand opening of a project more than 20 years in the making with a ceremony Friday.
HCWC staff, board and capital campaign committee members and donors commemorated the grand opening of Marla’s Place — Marla R. Johnson Family Housing Center — with a ribbon cutting, facility tours and a grand opening ceremony.
“We are so very proud of [Marla’s Place],” HCWC Executive Director Melissa Rodriguez said. “We’re excited to think about all of the families who will live here and the difference that Marla’s Place will make in their lives.”
HCWC is a nonprofit that provides services, including counseling, advocacy, 24-hour crisis response and shelter to Hays and Caldwell county residents who are victims of family violence, dating violence, sexual assault and child abuse. Rodriguez said HCWC serves 2,000 adults and children every year with emergency shelter, hospital response, counseling, child-forensic interviews, play therapy and personal and legal advocacy.
Marla’s Place, which is named after former HCWC Executive Director Marla Johnson, is a 22,000 square foot transitional housing project consisting of 18 apartment units that are one to four bedrooms each. Alongside the apartment units, Marla’s Place will have Head Start classrooms for children, a playground, a sports court and gathering spaces. Preference for housing is given to families with young children.
“Our assessments told us that we could fill 40 units on any given day with people who really needed the housing. We decided to focus on families with young children,” Johnson said. “We heard over and over again from moms in the shelter that they had to return to the abuser until their children grew up to school age and then they would make a change. They simply could not afford to move before that. We knew those kids were growing up in bad environments.”
The project cost $5 million and was raised through the Building Hope Capital Campaign. Cindy McCoy, who served as the chairperson for the capital campaign, said everyone had their own reason for donating to HCWC whether it was out of the kindness of their heart or if they personally experienced abuse.
“I can tell you one of the reasons why I am here today is because my husband, Dennis, and I were watching the local San Marcos news in the early 1980s and heard of a little 2-year-old boy who had been murdered by his own father. We had a little 2-year-old girl and that time … and we both could not fathom somebody doing that to their own child,” McCoy said. “We were so naive back then.”
McCoy added after seeing the tragic event she checked to see if a center existed in San Marcos and found HCWC. She quickly knew she wanted to get involved.
“Because of that little boy losing his life, we wanted to help those undergoing family violence in our little part of the world,” she said. “So, we went to the whole McCoy family and they all agreed to build a bigger and better shelter. They all have huge hearts … I’m also saying this to help everyone realize that, that little 2-yearold boy did not die in vain. Many of us here have the same kind of stories and that’s why we donate here. We may not understand it all but his life was used to help others experiencing family violence.”
San Marcos Mayor Jane Hughson, who read a proclamation celebrating the grand opening of Marla’s Place, said Friday’s event marked a proud moment for HCWC.
“It’s with pride that I offer a big thank you to Marla Johnson, the former executive director, who had the heart and vision to help women and children in their most vulnerable stage of life to give them a place of safety and a lifeline to hope for the future,” Hughson said. “Thank you, Marla. Thank you to the board of directors and the capital campaign committee for your vision, dedication and perseverance. And to the donors whose financial support has been valuable beyond mention.”
Reflecting upon the work it took to complete the transitional housing project, Johnson said she thought there were many times when she believed it wouldn’t come to fruition but expressed that it’s so much better than she ever imagined it would be.
“We all know that there is lots of division in our society now, and I know some here would likely disagree on a few things, but today we see real evidence that we all share a common and very powerful spirit,” Johnson said. “We care about our community and we’re willing to take bold risk to help children have what they need. These are your people. This is your community … The kids who come here probably won’t know many of us but we can be assured that they will be better off because we all stepped up to work together to create something beautiful for them. It seemed like this took forever but honestly the time was perfect. I hope you’re proud.”
Rodriguez said the heart of the project is the children whose lives will be changed by living at Marla’s Place.
“In the coming months, we will start moving in our first families, children will fill our beautiful Head Start classrooms and play on our playgrounds and sports court,” Rodriguez said. “Moms will begin working with our dedicated staff on their goals. One step at a time — from going back to school, gaining job training, rebuilding their credit, parenting support, therapy support groups — all focused on creating a foundation for safety and independence.”
