When you support Shelters for Hope/Centro de Esperanza, who are you helping? We asked our shelter managers, Aaron Flores and Karla Betancourt, if they could provide you with a sense of who the residents are and why they are with us. They shared Luisa’s story. (Her name has been changed.)
Luisa was just a child when her life took an irreversible turn.
In her village, far from the cities and the protection of the state, she was abused by her own uncle. When she decided to speak out, she believed that justice would protect her… but it didn't. Her uncle wasn't just any man. He had ties to local criminal groups. Instead of receiving support, the family received a death sentence: if they reported him or returned to the village, they wouldn't live to tell the tale.
In a single night, they lost everything: their home, their school, their land, their plans. They couldn't go back. They had nowhere to hide. They could only move forward. After days of fear and asking for help door to door, someone told them about Centro de Esperanza (Center of Hope). It wasn't a luxury. It wasn't a temporary refuge. It was their only option.
Arriving there didn't mean solving their problems, but it did mean something essential: they finally had a place to wait. To wait until they were given the opportunity to apply for asylum in the U.S. Knowing that their lives were no longer in danger. Having the space to breathe without fear.
This may be one woman’s story, but so many of the families at Centro have similar stories. Like Luisa, they can’t think about going back - because going back means risk, it means violence, it means putting themselves in the hands of those who have already threatened them. Centro de Esperanza is a place where these families can stay without fear, where they can study and play without worry, where they can imagine a different future while they wait.
But this place doesn't exist on its own. It exists thanks to those who believe in human dignity; who donate food, basic necessities, resources, or time. To those who understand that many families, like Luisa's, aren't here because they want to be, but because they have nowhere else to go.
Your support ensures that this space remains standing. That no family fleeing violence has to sleep on the street.
When you donate to Shelters for Hope, you don’t just support the shelter: you give families the gift of hope.
