GALVESTON – More than two weeks after the Galveston County Health District forced The Children’s Center to shut down over conditions described as “unfit for humans,” we are getting a first look inside the transitional housing shelter.
On Monday, leaders of the nonprofit that runs the shelter claimed they didn’t know the deplorable conditions existed, said they heard no complaints about the living conditions, and said it was “shocking” to see news reports about the conditions.
Video shows disarray on full display with piles of trash, backed up toilets, rat droppings, and roaches.
“What I wasn’t expecting from a place that I went to for help with my kids was the roaches,” said Kelly Needham, who lived at the shelter with her two children the day it was shut down. “The bed that I had to sleep on smelled like urine when we got there.”
When nonprofit leaders got in front of TV cameras on Monday, they announced the president and CEO will retire. Leaders said the shelter director resigned a day before the Galveston County Health Authority issued the order forcing the shutdown.
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“We all should have done better. Okay. As far as where these droppings were and what part of the buildings they were, we don’t know,” board vice chair David Holmen said. “These residents, they have privacies. We can’t just walk into a room...We don’t...have maids come through or nobody, you know, clean up. It’s up to (the residents).”
The health district is now funding hotel rooms for those forced out.
“It’s an unbudgeted expense. And my chief financial officer is really worried where are we going to get the money to make sure that we can pay,” Galveston County Local Health Authority Philip Kaiser said.
Part of the order requires the nonprofit to come up with a mitigation plan. Former residents are fighting for stability.
“All the comforts are supposed to come from something like that. You know, we basically had everything ripped away from us again. And it’s so hard to trust people now,” Needham said. “We went there in hopes of getting back on our feet and being able to become stable again.”
Galveston County Commissioners have voted to move forward with eviction proceedings against the The Children’s Center.
Nonprofit leaders said it could be a year and a half before the family crisis shelter is serving the community again, despite a need in the community.