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July 25, 2023

In April 2022, the Crisis Center of Comal County lost its emergency shelter and residential facility due to a fire.

Now, the Center is settling into a new home on Landa Street in New Braunfels.

But the agency’s mission hasn’t changed: to provide crisis and prevention services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault while providing a safe environment where individuals can make educated, unbiased decisions about their future.

Mildred Monreal, the Center’s chief development officer, said the new location is advantageous as it provides more space, enabling the organization to expand its offerings.

“It’s great that we moved from a smaller space on East Common Street to this larger space and the chance that we’ll build capacity for the agency,” Monreal said. “It’s very exciting overall as we get more settled into the space and figure out all the new things we can do with it.”

The Center provides services to women, children and men of all ages. These services include a 24-hour crisis line, shelter, counseling, support groups, legal advocacy, assistance with filing for child support, case management, victim advocacy, information and referral, transportation and
community education and prevention.

The new location will eventually serve as the Center’s base of operation — housing its services, thrift store and administrative offices in one place.

“We have our thrift store on site, which is another source of income,” she said. “We’ll be able to have events in the building because we have a ballroom. We plan on changing out our ballroom to a conference-style space, so we can expand our education programs – we can bring in the community to talk to them. Of course, our counseling rooms are available, but now we can go beyond that and work with larger groups because of the larger space. We also have space for our prevention programs.”

The Center is also about to launch a capital campaign to earn funds for a new shelter facility on the Landa Street property that would house the agency’s services and various spaces of living to accommodate families and individuals, as well as a kennel for clients who have pets. The proposed facility would house about 90 people, according to Monreal.

To celebrate the agency’s 37th anniversary and its new location, the Center will host an open house and community partner fair on July 28 from 4-7 p.m. at the facility at 655 Landa St.

The open house will include guided tours and engaging activities for individuals of all ages, making it a family-friendly event.

Additionally, local organizations, businesses and community groups will come together at the event to showcase their services, initiatives and resources.

“We found that now is the right time to open up the doors and share with the community what we are doing as the Crisis Center,” she said. “This is also a way to be transparent with what we are doing and to bond with the community. It is a commitment to make sure that everyone understands what services we provide and is able to get information.”

The Center is a partner organization with the McKenna Foundation. The Foundation’s board recently awarded the Center a $125,000 grant as part of McKenna’s basic living needs portfolio.

If you or someone you know needs immediate help with crisis services, information or referrals, call the Center’s 24-hour crisis line at 800-434-8013 or 830-620-4357 or text 830-310-2199.

Walk-ins are welcome at the office at 655 Landa St. from 9 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. There is no need to make an appointment to receive immediate crisis intervention and advocacy services.

If you are in danger and need immediate assistance, call 9-1-1.

To learn more about the Center and how they serve the community or to volunteer and donate, visit www.crisiscenternb.org.