Child Crisis Center of El Paso- Founders- George and Mary Russell

Mary and George Russell, Founders

A Painful Beginning

"Whenever I am asked how the Child Crisis Center got started, my mind goes back to that day in 1973, when the world
seemed to come to an end for my family and me. On October 13th of that year, a two-year-old boy was taken to William
Beaumont Army Hospital. He was crying with pain, vomiting, emaciated, and unable to walk. His parents did not know what
was wrong with him. Doctors soon discovered that this same child had had a fractured skull only one month before and
the parents could not explain that either.
The child developed complications and lapsed into a coma for three and a half weeks. The doctors feared that if he did
recover, he would be completely impaired. After many prayers, his first reaction, a smile, came on Thanksgiving Day. He
did recover but had lost his sight and is blind to this day. An official investigation was conducted, but a definite conclusion
on whether or not the child had been abused, was not reached. That child was my grandson.

In 1978, my husband and I became aware of a crisis nursery for the prevention of child abuse and neglect in Tucson,
Arizona. We visited the nursery to see it in operation and were convinced that it was a potent answer to the question,
"How can we prevent child abuse?" With the support of Msgr. Roland Vonder Haar of Blessed Sacrament Church, we
sought and obtained permission from the El Paso Catholic Diocese to use a vacant building for the Crisis Nursery. It was
made available for $1.00 a year. The repairs made to meet licensing standards were made primarily by volunteers using
materials donated by various individuals.
In March of 1979, after much prayerful consideration, a Board of Trustees was formed and the Articles of Incorporation
were drafted. On July 13, 1980, our dream became a reality and the first Crisis Nursery in the state of Texas opened its
doors. It was originally called The Spirit of Love Crisis Nursery. A year later it was changed to The Child Crisis Center of
El Paso.

Although our grandson is legally blind, he has graduated from college and is pursuing a Masters Degree in French. Back
in 1973, when I saw him lying in that hospital crib, thinking the world had come to an end for me and my family, I had
never realized that it was actually the beginning of a new and different life for ourselves and thousands of others"- MLR

An Answer

The Child Crisis Center of El Paso was established to prevent child abuse and/or neglect. In 1980, it became the first
crisis nursery in the state of Texas. The Center is a crisis nursery and emergency shelter for children, newborn through
age 13, who are victims of abuse and/or neglect, or who are at high risk for such abuse and/or neglect. It is open 24
hours a day, seven days a week to families in the El Paso community and surrounding area. The Crisis Center is a
not-for-profit corporation, duly chartered under Texas law, and exempt from federal income taxes under section 501(c)(3)
of the internal revenue code. A Board of Directors composed of 17 volunteers residing in El Paso governs it. The
Center's programs are licensed under Texas laws and regulations governing child care facilities and emergency shelters.