“It could be a victim of domestic violence, [or] it could be a family member,” she said. “We get a range of calls, but, by far, the top two requests are victims seeking [emergency] shelter and housing.”
Sometimes hotline callers are looking for information or resources, she said.
“They say, ‘The police just left—what happens now?’” Coultas said. “Or [they say], ‘I’m thinking about getting a divorce, but I’m really scared.’ ... They just want to take that next step, and the hotline allows them to [do so], even if it’s in the middle of the night.”
Coultas said the name of the nonprofit came about during a merger that took place in 2017. Hope’s Door was founded in Plano by a local Junior League group in 1985. The New Beginning Center was started in Garland by the Garland Service League in 1982.
“Both organizations have similar origin stories,” Coultas said.
They both began with a hotline, which resulted in sheltering domestic violence victims in hotels. They each progressed to having their own emergency shelters, supportive housing, battering intervention and prevention programs, administrative buildings, therapeutic services with licensed professional counselors, paid advocates, and resale stores. As a merged entity, these services are still provided at the Plano and Garland shelters as well as outreach centers. However, there is now only one resale store, which is located on West Parker Road in Plano.
The Plano emergency shelter is a house that can accommodate 25 women and their children who are victims of domestic violence and fleeing abuse. Because space is limited, cases are prioritized based on those most at risk, Coultas said. The Plano Police Department has an agreement with Hope’s Door. After they conduct a lethality assessment protocol on scene, officers can recommend the victim call the hotline or make the call for them to reserve shelter space.
The center provides children’s play therapy that gives those lacking verbal skills a meaningful way to process feelings. Hope’s Door also employs two full-time family law attorneys.
“The legal needs are so great that at any time both of them are representing 56 victims,” Coultas said.
In addition to attorneys, victims have access to legal advocates.
“We ascribe to give everybody a legal consult that wants it,” Coultas said. “We know that is one thing you can’t get out there in the market without writing a check.”
The battering intervention and prevention program is a six-month group treatment program primarily for those who have been arrested for domestic violence.
“When we provide offender treatment, even if we never have contact with their victim, there is a possibility we have made an intervention that has changed his behavior in the future,” Coultas said. “If you don’t have prevention in our community, we’re just going to need a bigger shelter five years from now.”
Coultas, who has helped domestic violence victims for 23 years, said the work is important.
“Everyone deserves to be safe,” she said. “No person should have to lay their head down in a place they call home and not feel safe there.”
Ways to help: Here are some ways to help the Hope’s Door New Beginning Center, which offers intervention and prevention services to those affected by intimate partner and family violence.
- Tell others about the mission of Hope’s Door New Beginning Center;
- Donate financially;
- Donate shelter items, such as new toiletries, bed linens, pillows and more from the full list of needs on the website;
- Attend volunteer orientation;
- Attend a fundraising event; or
- Volunteer by working in the resale store, doing administrative work, conducting mock interviews and more.
