CASTLE ROCK, Colo. — A new partnership in Douglas County is bringing safety to people fleeing domestic violence.
On March 25, Douglas County commissioners approved a $350,000 service agreement with the nonprofit, TESSA.
The organization is based out of Colorado Springs and brings safe housing, mental health and substance abuse support, and legal guidance to domestic violence victims daily.
That includes people from Douglas County.
"For a number of years, we have continued to get calls from Douglas County," said Anne Markley, CEO of TESSA. "So we've long known that it was a need."
The beds brought to Douglas County will fill a need Commissioner Abe Laydon said the community has asked for.
Laydon is hopeful it will be a solution for people like Michelle Valentine.
"I was in a relationship. I was married. He happened to be a drug addict and an alcoholic, and he was also very abusive at times when he was using," Valentine said.
It took finding a knife under her bed to get up and leave her husband for good, and when she did, she said she didn't have a safe place to go.
She didn't live in Colorado at the time. Now, she volunteers with TESSA.
"I was very fortunate to be able to get support, and I was able to get out of that situation safely, but I was a lucky one," Valentine said. "So being able to have a place that can help you, because you can't advocate for yourself when you're in crisis, you need someone to do that for you. I wish we could, but we're not in a place to do that. So a place like TESSA, having a safe house, being able to have all those resources in front of you is life changing."
The county bought the building in November of 2024. But Laydon said the location is not being shared.
"That's absolutely critical that we keep these locations confidential and private so that individuals that are fleeing can remain safe and that their abuser cannot follow them to these locations," he said.
According to Markley, the shelter will open mid-to-late summer.
"So often, people suffer in silence, and they don't want to come out. They don't want to talk about it. They feel shameful," Markley said. "There's going to be an organization like TESSA now serving this community who can walk alongside them to provide that hope this year. Our mantra for the year is hope starts here."
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