Williamson County is booming. It’s one of the fastest-growing areas in Texas, new homes, schools, and families are arriving every day. But beneath this surface of growth lies a quiet, devastating crisis affecting women in Williamson County and their children. These are women escaping abuse, mothers trying to rebuild after incarceration, and survivors of trauma, addiction, and financial collapse.
Many have nowhere to go and no one to help.
“It’s not just about housing,” says Loree Tamayo, founder of Yesterday’s Gone.
“It’s about giving women a chance to heal, to be seen, and to start again with their dignity intact.”
To understand what’s happening in our own backyard, we need to talk about the numbers, but more importantly, we need to talk about the women behind them.
At first glance, Williamson County doesn’t look like a place in crisis. But for women facing trauma, poverty, or unsafe environments, the truth is painfully clear: there is not enough support, not enough shelter, not enough time, not enough long-term healing options. The numbers paint a sobering picture. In 2023, over 1,300 people experienced homelessness, many of them women with children.
Nearly 27 percent of renters spend more than half their income on housing, leaving little room for emergencies or escape. More than 3,000 domestic violence-related calls were made to law enforcement, and one in four women in the area report symptoms of anxiety or depression.
Most local programs focus on emergency shelter or short-term aid, but few address the deeper layers of trauma that many women carry. Without trauma-informed care, healing cannot take root. Women are left navigating emotional wounds on their own while also trying to secure housing, income, and safety for their families. The lack of long-term recovery options means that even the most determined women can feel stuck, overwhelmed, and unsupported. Real healing takes more than a bed for the night. It takes structure, time, and compassionate guidance. Without these, the cycle of crisis continues.
Trauma doesn’t always show up in a physical, dramatic collapse. Often, it’s a slow unraveling. Here are four of the most common ways this crisis plays out for women in Williamson County.
For a woman escaping violence or addiction, the first barrier is housing. Without a stable place to land, nothing else can happen. There is no job search, no therapy, and no routine for her kids. Most shelters offer only 14 to 30 day stays. Many do not allow pets or teenage boys. There is no long-term housing available specifically for women with trauma. Women are left to sleep in cars, couch-hop, or stay in unsafe relationships because there’s nowhere else to go.
“I tried to get help,” said one woman, “but no one could take my son and my dog. I didn’t want to break up my family just to have a roof over our heads.”
In 2023, local police reported over 3,000 calls related to domestic abuse. But shelter space remains limited. Survivors are often required to leave behind their children, dogs, or personal belongings to qualify for help. These impossible choices force many to stay in harm’s way or give up on recovery entirely.
More than one in three women in the United States have experienced physical violence, sexual violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime. Yet the available support rarely matches the scale of the crisis. Some shelters offer only a few days’ stay. Others have long waitlists. For many women, the cost of leaving an abusive home is simply too high when the alternative is to go back to the abuser.
Healing from trauma takes more than just time. It requires safe spaces, consistent support, and access to qualified therapy. Unfortunately, for women in Williamson County, affordable counseling is often out of reach. Waitlists stretch six months or longer. Many trauma support programs end before meaningful progress can even begin.
For women still worried about how they will afford food or rent, emotional stability feels impossible. In reality, mental health care has become a luxury that most women in survival mode simply cannot access. Without mental health support, many women cannot begin to heal the emotional wounds that led to instability in the first place.
Fewer than 20 percent of women have access to stable housing or reliable childcare within the first two months after the initial shelter stay.. Most shelters do not allow pets or ANY child over the age of 2, forcing mothers to make an impossible choice between safety and staying together as a family.
For many women, leaving an abusive situation is just the first battle. Without safe housing, steady income, childcare, or access to education, survival on their own becomes nearly impossible. The system may applaud their courage for leaving, but it rarely offers the tools they need to stay gone. When the shelters are full, job options are limited, and food is uncertain, going back can feel like the only path left. Not because they want to return, but because the world outside offers no support. These women are not failing. They are being failed by a system that asks them to be strong without giving them anything to stand on.
Short-term shelters play a critical role in addressing immediate needs. They offer emergency beds, hot meals, and temporary safety for women and children in crisis. But they are not designed for long-term transformation. A thirty-day stay may provide momentary relief, but it rarely gives a woman enough time to begin deep healing, create a sustainable plan, or rebuild her life.
This is how women in Williamson County fall through the cracks. There is rarely enough time to begin therapy before the clock runs out on a bed. There is no one consistently walking beside her through job searches, court hearings, or the emotional triggers that come with past trauma. Most shelters cannot accommodate children of all ages, family pets, or specific cultural and spiritual needs that are essential to a woman’s recovery. Some programs may offer limited life coaching or classes, but without long-term consistency, the impact often fades.
As Loree Tamayo, founder of Yesterday’s Gone, often says, “We’ve had women tell us, the help ended before the healing began.” Without a program that provides time, structure, and personalized care, even the strongest women are left to navigate their healing alone.
When a woman finds lasting healing, the impact reaches far beyond her. Trauma, poverty, and instability often pass quietly from one generation to the next, shaping the futures of children who grow up in survival mode. But when a mother is given the space and support to heal, her children are given a new story. It is a story rooted in safety, consistency, and hope.
Children who grow up in stable homes are more likely to stay in school, avoid the justice system, and develop strong emotional resilience. They learn that asking for help is safe and that healing is possible. They watch their mothers rise and begin to believe they can rise too.
At Yesterday’s Gone, we have seen what happens when a child goes from sleeping in the backseat of a car to sleeping in a warm bed every night. We have seen the relief on a mother’s face when she no longer has to choose between feeding her child or showing up for counseling. This is how generational trauma is interrupted. Not by short-term fixes or brief shelter stays, but through time, trust, and full-circle support.
Investing in one woman’s recovery is an investment in her entire family’s future. It prevents another generation from repeating the same painful patterns. And it builds stronger, more compassionate communities for all of us.
Yesterday’s Gone was created because women recovering from trauma are not getting what they truly need, especially in places like Williamson County. Too often, the resources available are short term, limited, or come with conditions that force women to choose between safety and staying with their families. We exist to change that.
Unlike emergency shelters that offer only brief relief, our year long program provides the time, dignity, and structure needed for real transformation. Women are welcomed with their children of all ages and their pets, ensuring no family has to be separated to access care. Our trauma informed approach includes onsite coaching, licensed therapy, and peer mentorship, along with practical tools like job placement, GED support, and life skills training.
Each woman receives a personalized, woman led recovery plan tailored to her pace and her goals. Built by survivors and for survivors, Yesterday’s Gone is not just about safe shelter. It is about building lasting emotional and financial stability. We offer more than safety. We offer a path back to wholeness.
The shelters in Williamson County are already at capacity. The programs that do exist are often too short to create lasting change. The system is stretched thin and cannot meet the growing need. But you have the power to step in where others cannot.
You can be the reason women in Williamson County do not have to choose between keeping their children and finding safety. You can be the reason a mother completes therapy, earns her GED, and finds the strength to begin again. You can be the reason her past does not define her future.
Be the reason “yesterday” doesn’t define her tomorrow.
The need is rising. In 2024 alone, we added two new homes, enrolled dozens of women, and are preparing to launch a second mobile RV unit for rural outreach. But we can’t do more without you.
✅ Become a monthly donor. Just $25/month creates lasting change
✅ Sponsor a recovery year for a woman and her children
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Our Mission at Yesterday’s Gone is dedicated to helping abused and neglected women transform into women of strength and dignity.
Our Vision at Yesterday’s Gone is to live in a world where no woman has to go back to an abusive situation.
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