PHX Reporter

Full emergency shelters in Maricopa County are cause for concern especially for domestic violence survivors who need someplace to stay right after deciding to leave the dangerous environment they called home.

It's a problem victims looking for a quick way out of a potentially deadly relationship are having to deal with, according to ABC 15.

"At the moment, the shelters are reporting full," a case manager at A New Leaf told someone calling Maricopa County's domestic violence hotline, ABC 15 reported. "We are going to have another update later on in a few hours so, you can continue to call back to check on that."

One survivor recalled being told to keep calling back at 6 each morning, a situation she called "frustrating" and "scary," ABC 15 reported. "I wish people knew that the cops don't just whisk you away to a new life." 

Dana Martinez, A New Leaf's director of domestic violence programs, told the news outlet they noticed during the pandemic when space at shelters was limited to slow the spread of the virus, often times it created a better situation for the victims. "People were staying longer in shelter, and it was taking longer to turn over because of those really rapidly increasing rental rates," Martinez said.

Marina Jessop, the community-based program manager at Chicanos Por La Causa De Colores, told ABC 15 she's been on the phone for hours trying to help domestic violence survivors find a place to stay. "They have children and they're waiting on me, pleading and it's the end of the day," she said. "All the agencies are closing down for the day, and she's just sitting in a park with her kids, and I can't get a bed for her."