Camden County domestic violence shelter in need of help after tornado damage

CAMDEN COUNTY, Ga. — A local domestic violence shelter in Camden County needs to raise $40,000 after suffering damages from Tropical Storm Elsa.

On Wednesday Action News Jax showed you the powerful EF-2 tornado that tore through St. Marys, Georgia, destroying several homes and businesses, including an RV park at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base.

On Friday, Marcie Costello showed Action News Jax all the debris left over from Elsa.

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The executive director of the Camden House has dealt with past hurricanes and flooding.

“The waters came right up to the exterior of our building but didn’t come in,” Costello said.

But nothing prepared her for a tornado hitting the community’s domestic violence shelter.

“To actually see what happened to our facility was kind of that protectiveness like, ‘oh my goodness what has happen to our house,’” Costello said.

The families that stay there are victims of abuse and to better protect them, we aren’t revealing the shelter’s location.

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The Camden House suffered a lot of exterior damage, including a massive tree that was uprooted and slammed into a bedroom window.

The shelter’s security fencing was also twisted and bent, it’s tables turned upside down, and their heavy storage pod was tossed from one side to the other.

Because of the damage, the Camden House has had to find an alternative safe space for these families.

“All of our participants are safe and in very good hands I like to think and we’re continuing to provide services from the get-go,” Costello said.

Right now it’s looking to raise $40,000 to help fix all the damages and get the facility operating back to normal.

“We want to make sure that when somebody’s in a situation where they’re unsafe and possibly fearing for their lives, they have a place to call and a place to take care of them,” Costello said.

To learn more about how can help support the Camden House, click here.

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