Domestic sanctuaries see many repeat clients

Someone from St. Mark's Hospital is calling on the hotline.

The YWCA is full, the person says, inquiring, "Do you have a room?"

At South Valley Sanctuary, a domestic violence shelter in the middle of the Salt Lake Valley, a room had freed up moments earlier, when a Draper victim advocate called shelter staff to say a woman with three kids wouldn't be coming. She'd decided to stay with her husband.

"Are you OK?" shelter staffer Sheena Deltejo asks the victim on the phone.

"Shauna" is not OK. A year ago, she testified against her boyfriend on a domestic violence case. He's in prison now, but Shauna says he found out where she lives and sent relatives to punish her. She was four-months pregnant, but they beat her so bad she miscarried her baby.

She's in the hospital now but will be released soon, she tells Deltejo. "I don't even want to go back to get my things."

It turns out, Shauna has been to the shelter before. About a year ago. She obeyed the rules then so will be admitted again.

"We get a lot of repeat clients," said South Valley director Sam Nolan. "These are people that they love, and they've come to trust, and it's difficult to let all that go.

"They really believe love can pull them through."

But at some point, hundreds of men and women each year realize love isn't enough.

One woman fled her home barefoot, pushing three kids in a stroller in the snow. She landed on the shelter steps.

There are 16 shelters like this throughout Utah. Only two are in Salt Lake County. The South Valley Sanctuary is the only undisclosed location. It is also one in the Salt Lake Valley that accepts men.

Still, Nolan and her staff turn away 100 people a month.

Those who get a room are safe, but because it is an "emergency" shelter and clients only stay for up to 30 days, they must get on their feet quickly.

Some are just exhausted, so they sleep. Shelter workers host a "Kids' Club" to care for children so parents can regroup and rest.

But within 48 hours they work with staff on an "action plan" and an individual safety plan.