Charlene, 26, is a resident at The Gatehouse. She says she’s there to start over and get her life back on track. Photo by Mark Graham.
Domestic violence affects all races, incomes, and family members. But there’s an innovative nonprofit in Grapevine that’s creating a path for women to build new lives—free from fear, full of love, and filled with hope. And it’s a community like nothing else in the country.
At The Gatehouse in Grapevine, sunflowers are ubiquitous. They are in the pictures hanging on the walls of the nicely furnished, spacious apartments. They are in the vases decorating the community center, where 10 staff members work to support families creating their own paths to sustainability. Soon, they will be growing in the green space surrounding the community’s nature trail and playground — resilient, beautiful and bright.
The 61-acre apartment complex and community located in a serene, heavily treed patch of land off Texas Highway 121 is designed to be a refuge offering support, safety and spiritual growth for women living in crisis situations such as poverty and domestic abuse. It’s a fortress of solitude and security, with cameras strategically placed throughout the space and a meticulously monitored gated entry. Beauty is important, too. The sunflower is the community’s symbol of faith in the future for the families living there, because the flower always turns its face toward the sun and grows tall and strong.
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Sarah Angle 