When a woman leaves an abusive partner, safety is only the first step. Financial planning, emotional healing, childcare, and career guidance all work together to make independence possible and to strengthen the community as a whole. For the woman we’re calling “Jenna,” that meant therapy, play therapy for her children, and case management at Transformation House. Together, these pieces helped her untangle her life from abuse and build her future on her own terms.
Jenna first came to Kendall County after fleeing Houston with her two young children. “It took me seven tries to leave for good,” she recalls. “I felt guilty for wanting to go and ashamed that I couldn’t ‘fix’ my family.” Her husband’s addiction and controlling behavior fueled five years of abuse, marked by repeated cycles of leaving and returning, until she finally reached a breaking point.
Without knowing what steps to take, lacking confidence, and feeling like she couldn’t make it on her own, Jenna took a leap of faith. She confided in her family, who provided a safe place to stay and connected her to Transformation House.
Once she arrived, Jenna and her family began their healing journey. Transformation House’s integrative model of care includes trauma-informed therapy, play therapy, and case management. Therapy helped her process years of pain, unpack how fear, self-doubt, and abuse had shaped her thinking, and she began to rebuild her sense of self. “Learning the science behind trauma was so empowering for me; understanding how trauma affects your brain, your emotions, and even your physical health.” Once she was ready, Jenna began working with a case manager who helped her explore her skills and interests at weekly meetings, discuss career options, eventually develop her resume, and identify a path back into the workforce.
Meanwhile, Jenna’s son was healing, too. Weekly play therapy sessions gave him a safe, engaging space to process the changes in his life. The toys and games disguised deeper work, learning to manage emotions, communicate feelings, and develop coping tools he could carry into everyday situations.
Transformation House is not an emergency shelter, but rather a “step two” program. For women in danger, the first step is a verified emergency shelter. Then, women can be referred to Transformation House when they are nearing the end of their shelter stay and still need support.
For those ready for intensive work, the residential program offers up to two years of rent-free housing. In return, residents commit to working, attending school, or both, while making progress toward long-term self-sufficiency. The organization’s dual-generation approach ensures that children also receive therapeutic services, including play therapy, to process the trauma they’ve experienced.
Non-residential services are available to women at any stage, whether they are weighing the decision to leave, actively planning for safety, or navigating life after securing housing. Case managers and therapists guide clients through overwhelming logistical and emotional challenges that follow separation from an abuser.
The roots of Transformation House lie in the personal journey of its Executive Director, Lori Houck. She became aware of the challenges mothers face when there is abuse in the home after she became a foster parent in 2010. Through working with Texas Child Protective Services and local systems, she saw that while emergency shelters offered essential safety, they often weren’t enough for moms who truly needed time to rebuild their lives. Previously, Kendall County had no transitional housing program for survivors, especially one without restrictions such as age or number of children. So Houck brought a group of women together to create something new: a place that would give women not just refuge, but the time, resources, and support to achieve sustainable independence.
This integration of services is what makes Transformation House’s model so effective. Every client—whether living on-site or not—has a team: an adult therapist, a play therapist for their children, and a case manager, all coordinated through a licensed social worker. This “wraparound care” model means mental health needs, daily life challenges, and long-term goals are addressed simultaneously.
Jenna’s story shows why Transformation House’s approach works. Every practical piece—career planning, financial guidance, childcare, emotional support—connects to the others. Together, they create the foundation a woman needs to end cycles of abuse and step into independence. With the foundation she built through Transformation House’s, she launched a successful wedding planning business in San Antonio and Austin, employs a small team, and enjoys the flexibility to be present for her children. “I’m really proud of it,” she says. “I owe so much of that to Transformation House, because they’re the ones who gave me the courage to believe I could do it.”
Today, Jenna is not just out of an abusive situation; she’s thriving. “Healing is a process; it doesn’t happen overnight,” she says. “For me, it took seven tries to leave. Domestic violence doesn’t discriminate. It affects entire families. Transformation House helped me understand what I felt and gave me the tools to rebuild my life.”
transformation-house.org | 830-542-9166 | info@transformation-house.org
“Healing is a process; it doesn’t happen overnight. For me, it took seven tries to leave. Domestic violence doesn’t discriminate. It affects entire families. Transformation House helped me understand what I felt and gave me the tools to rebuild my life.”