The only domestic violence shelter in Northern Colorado city could close during high demand

Longmont's only domestic violence shelter, Safe Shelter at St Vrain Valley, is running out of money at the same time more people are turning to it for help.

The shelter says it needs to raise $295,000 by the end of the year to keep all of its services open. Beyond providing emergency shelter, the nonprofit also offers a 24/7 crisis hotline and outreach programming.

Boulder County Sheriff's Office reports that about one in every five cases detectives are working on includes domestic violence charges. Longmont Public Safety says the city has historically seen some of the highest domestic violence reports in the county. While this could also be connected to a higher rate of reporting, Longmont Public Safety says advocacy work in the city makes reporting more accessible.

For Safe Shelter advisor Rhonda Crane, the shelter has been a place to help survivors for more than three decades.

"I kind of grew up like that. I always wondered if there was something I could have done to help," Crane said, speaking of seeing domestic violence in her home as a child.

As she regularly works with hundreds of survivors, Crane still remembers the first person she helped.

"Just to watch her feel safe and to be able to talk, and her kids to be able to talk without being yelled at or hit, and watch her grow," Crane said.

The organization reports helping thousands of people over nearly half a century. Now, its own future is uncertain.

"This crisis couldn't have hit our organization at a worse time," said the shelter's Executive Director Nancy Herbert.

Herbert said the shelter lost a quarter of its funding last year because of federal cuts. At the same time, she says more people are seeking help.

"Just in the first six months of this year alone, the number of clients that we have served in our shelter has doubled over last year," Herbert said.

She says the shelter is almost always full. Now, they're asking the community to help fill a $295,000 funding gap.

"There are no reserves right now," Herbert said.

Asked if the shelter had ever been in that position before, Herbert said, "Not to my knowledge."

So far, Herbert says the community has donated about one-third of the shelter's fundraising goal.

Herbert and other shelter advocates are hoping that support continues before the end of the year.

For Crane, closing the shelter would mean more than losing a longtime community resource. She worries about where survivors would go.

"After almost half a century, it'd be really, it'd be a big loss for our community," she said. "Where will they go if they don't have any place here in Longmont?"

Crane says the shelter has helped save lives, as they now look to the community to help keep its doors open.