Only on ABC-7: Avoiding abuse, woman, children sleep in car

In El Paso, more than half of the homeless population are moms and their children.

The YWCA finds that many of those women chose homelessness to escape abusive relationships.

“Jacqueline” is one of those women.

“He came home one night really drunk, and he just started abusing me,” Jacqueline told ABC-7. She asked ABC-7 to not use her real name.

Jacqueline’s life for the last four years consisted of beatings at the hands of her husband. She said he was not always abusive, but the last four years of their six-year relationship were violent.

“It was getting worse and I thought, ‘He’s going to kill me one day,'” she said.

She had three reasons to leave: her three daughters, ages 4, 2, and 9 months.

They were also the reasons why she stayed.

“I didn’t have anyone to take care of my kids,” Jacqueline said. “It was hard making the decision. I was afraid of losing my job. Of losing everything.”

She walked out a month ago, but had nowhere to go.

“I stayed in my car for two days with my daughters,” said Jacqueline, her voice cracking with emotion. “They cried a lot. I had to go to a gas station so they could go to the restroom. It was really hard.”

Jacqueline’s homeless experience is not unique, according to the YWCA Paso Del Norte Region. The organization found that more than half of the homeless population in El Paso is made of women and children, many of whom are in that situation after escaping abusive relationships. Once they get out of the house, the women remain vulnerable.

“If a mother with children is homeless, the authorities are going to step in to take her children. So that’s something she has to hide,” Elizabeth Margo told ABC-7.

Margo is the chair of the committee planning a fundraiser to help homeless women transition to self-reliance. The fundraiser, No Fixed Address, invites participants to make a monetary pledge to the YWCA and experience what many homeless women are forced to do nightly: sleep in their cars. It takes place overnight on Friday, Nov. 13, at the YWCA on 1600 Brown St.

“We really wanted to make it an impactful event, one where the message that we’re putting across really crosses over to what we’re going to be doing,” said Margo.

Margo said several dozen people have signed up, which gives her hope.

“This is not an easy thing to ask people to do. We understand not everyone wants to brave the cold,” Margo said. “It’s clearly not a comfortable sleeping situation. So we’re excited that anyone wants to participate.”

Meantime, Jacqueline is at the YWCA’s Sara McKnight Transitional Living Center. She’s working, saving money, and aiming toward attending nursing school. She’s relieved for the opportunity to get out of her car and on her feet.

“I’m living a peaceful life,” she said.

A life with a brighter future for herself and her three daughters.