SAN ANTONIO – A free turkey dinner can do more than save Thanksgiving. For a family that has escaped domestic violence, it can fuel independence.
A 7-year-old girl who spent 10 months in the Bexar County Battered Women and Children’s Shelter had a quick answer when asked about Thanksgiving: “My favorite thing is having like a nice time with my family.”
She was giddy with excitement, helping her grandmother carry a bag full of Thanksgiving food to the car.
The girl lost her mother to domestic violence, and her grandmother took her and her sisters to the shelter, which Family Violence Prevention Services runs.
“I felt safe there a lot. I felt calm,” the girl said.
“Sometimes when we go by there, they say, ‘Can’t we go back?’” her grandma said with a laugh, recalling how much they loved the shelter.
They have since transitioned from the shelter to their own home. The grandmother said Family Violence Prevention Services has helped them every step of the way.
“When they helped me with a home, they also had other resources that helped me, with furniture, which I didn’t have at the time, because I had to leave everything when I left,” the grandmother said.
Now, the organization is handing out loaded Thanksgiving bags to families like theirs who are transitioning out of the shelter but need some extra support.
“Right now I’m just working part-time. So that’s a big transition for me, and so this has helped me because I really wasn’t sure how I was going to do it,” the grandmother said.
Donation Center Coordinator Mari Sandoval and her assistant Marisa Valdez stuffed dozens of bags to the brim alongside volunteers.
The bags include more than just Thanksgiving items.
“They’re home from school, so they brought them some oranges, some apples, fruit punch, and then the basics for their turkey meal. Their pies, their rolls, veggies,” Sandoval said.
Sandoval said about 20 women are transitioning out of the shelter right now, and many more have already found independence. All of them are able to grab some bags.
Most survivors leave their abusive homes without their belongings, fleeing to safety. Once they transition out of the shelter, they are rebuilding their lives from the ground up. They get help finding jobs and signing up for college, but with this economy, Sandoval said, it’s still tough to afford everything.
“They get very nervous when the holidays are coming, and they think, ‘What am I going to do? I don’t have enough money,’” Sandoval said.
She has been helping with the Thanksgiving and Christmas meal giveaways at FVPS for more than 20 years.
The organization hopes to continue the program, but needs help.
“With what’s happening with our funding and stuff, we do need food,” Sandoval said. “We thank the food bank also because they help us too.”
Canned goods are running low, so anyone who wants to help the families transitioning out of the shelter can still drop off items at the donation center located at 2617 N. Main Ave.
FVPS also gives away Christmas meals and collects toys and pajamas, so even if the public cannot donate now, they will accept food donations in December as well.
The public can also “adopt” a family at the shelter and provide gifts for the children.
For more information, visit the FVPS Donation Center’s website.
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