Elizabeth's Place

My name is Nicole Harrison and I am the co-founder of a new nonprofit called “Elizabeth’s Place.” Elizabeth’s Place will be a long-term transitional living community and emergency shelter for women and their children, female Veterans, and other women impacted by domestic violence, poverty, and homelessness in Lee and Macon County Alabama. Elizabeth’s Place will invest in the growth of people, deepen community engagement, and empower women by creating safe spaces for help, healing, and hope while at the same time expecting residents to work towards self-sustaining futures. There’s no other long term shelter program in the community that provides this type of program for women and children. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 1 in 3 women have experienced some form of physical violence by an intimate partner. In terms of homelessness, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, 653,104 people experienced homelessness in 2023. Elizabeth’s Place is named after my late maternal grandmother, Elizabeth Alberta Riveira Saragosa. She was an advocate for women and families. She was a community organizer and activist who always fought for the rights of families in need. She was the mother of 10 children but she was “mom” to far more than her own children. She had a loving heart, kind spirit and she was compassionate and generous to everyone she met. My grandmother, although always with a smile on her face, you would never know that she herself and children experienced homelessness after losing their home to fire. Fortunately, with the love, support, and compassion of family, friends, and community, she was able to eventually secure stable housing for her family. On September 28, 1989, at age 58 years old, my grandmother passed away from a cerebral hemorrhage. This left a huge hole in the hearts of those who loved her. Establishing this foundation will honor her memory and further one of the many causes she felt so passionate about; safe, stable living housing for women and children.

The money raised (seed money) will go towards establishing the foundation to include filing fees, start-up cost, and other fees associated with establishing a nonprofit. Currently, we do not have our tax exempt status but we are working on submitting the legal paperwork and other documents. Thank you in advance for any amount you are able to contribute.