Michele Moyer understands what it is like to be trapped in an abusive marriage with no way to escape.

“I had nowhere to go,” the Barnesville woman said. “I didn’t have the means to leave. I needed somebody to help me to get on my own.”

Her ex-husband did walk away, but left her with two boys, a house and car and no way to pay the bills, she said.

Moyer lost everything, but someone gave her a hand to start over.

Now, she’s helping others do the same.

Moyer founded the New Beginnings Women’s Center and Shelter in Beaver Meadows.

The center, a ministry of His Living Waters Church also in the borough, opened Feb. 4.

Three women, two of whom have children, already call the former dental office on Broad Street home.

“I wish I could hold more, because literally the calls come in constantly for family (housing),” she said, noting she only has room for one more family now.

Moyer explained there are suites for up to three women with children upstairs, and suites for three single women downstairs.

Each floor has its own bathroom and living room area, and a shared kitchen and laundry area, she said.

Moyer also has an office, a food bank/storage area and prayer room in the building.

Women find the shelter through PA 211, the state’s social service help line; and other agencies, such as Catholic Social Services, which operates a homeless shelter in Hazleton.

Unlike other homeless shelters, the residents don’t have to leave each morning and return in the evening to sleep. The women pay to stay, but half of the funds they contribute are set aside to help them rebuild their lives, Moyer said.

“We have parenting classes. We have pastoral counseling and we have case management supportive services,” she said.

They may need food stamps, medical assistance and other services to help them as they get onto their feet, Moyer said.

She and her current husband, Lance, who is pastor for His Living Waters, even try to help find them good-running cars, as that will help them find and keep jobs on the path to success, she said.

“So, it’s overall care,” Moyer said. “It’s saying that ‘I love you enough, I want to try to give you a platform to succeed.’”

She also works to protect everyone staying there.

Potential residents are screened for drugs and a criminal background check is done, Moyer said. She doesn’t allow older children or those who may put others in the home at risk, she said.

Moyer also has other rules, such as going to church or Bible study every Sunday as part of a Christian ministry; quiet time after 9 p.m., an 11 p.m. curfew and no visitors, to name a few, she said.

A maintenance person lives nearby should there be a problem in the home, and video surveillance shows anyone coming and going, she said.

Moyer feels the Lord called her to leave Berks County and come to Beaver Meadows to help other women, admitting it sounds crazy.

She said she visited a friend who was a pastor at Faith Assembly of God Church outside Hazleton, and learned about the domestic violence rate in the area at the time.

“I was just there, crying out to God and saying, ‘What do you want to do with my life?’” she said, and at the moment, the answer was move to the area and open a center to help women. “And that’s what I did.”

That was 2014, and it’s taken all this time, and many ups and downs, for it all finally fall into place, Moyer said.

She had even given up, when her offer to buy the current property was rejected, she said.

Moyer told a friend that she was done.

“He texted me back and all he said was, ‘God really does want that shelter,’” she said.

They didn’t talk about it for about three months, and he later told her that he felt God wanted him to remind her of her purpose for coming here.

Moyer said she gave in to God’s will at that moment, and renewed her commitment to starting a women’s center.

Twenty minutes later, she got a call from the property owner.

He changed his mind.

“I knew it was God, and here we are,” Moyer said.