Love for the Little Children: Delma Trejo with The Ark

Delma Trejo believes the children of today will become leaders of the future.

It’s her love and compassion for children displaced from their homes that have fueled Trejo’s dedication to the Ark Assessment Center & Emergency Shelter for Youth since 1999.

“I want these children to always remember their stay here with fondness for the love we gave them. I want them to remember somebody cared,” said Trejo, The Ark’s Executive Director. 

“Someday these children will be taking care of me. Someday these children will become our legislators making laws that impact us or doctors caring for our health.”

The Ark is an emergency shelter for children as young as one day old up to 17 years. It began as a project of the Missionary Sisters of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. The Diocese of Corpus Christi donated five acres of land to build the shelter and in 1997 The Ark became a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.

Today, The Ark is no longer affiliated with the Diocese of Corpus Christi and relies on private donations, state funding and grant opportunities. Currently, the children residing at The Ark are between the ages of a few days and 5 years.

“We simply don’t have enough foster homes to care for smaller children. But the bigger issue is so many children have multiple siblings and we always try to keep siblings together,” Trejo said. “Since most people work, if they foster or adopt an infant, they would need daycare, which is an added expense and prevents our smaller children from finding homes.”

The Ark is the only facility within an 80-mile radius of Corpus Christi that is certified by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to provide emergency shelter and assessment services for children who have been physically abused, sexually abused or neglected by parents or guardians. Trejo added cities from across Texas transport children to her facility all the time.

Some of the children have never owned brand new shoes or clothes, which is why The Ark buys each child new shoes and clothes as soon as they arrive. 

“I recall one instance where a child was leaving us to be placed in a foster home. He started to take his shoes off and hand them back to us because, at his old foster home, the shoes they gave him were considered their property. We had to tell him the shoes we purchased for him were his to keep. He was thrilled,” she recalled. “I told him: ‘These belong to you, you hold onto them. They are yours to keep.’”

Although the local community has shown its generosity by donating used clothing, Trejo said the children at The Ark are purchased clothing of their own. And many times, local schools the children attend, require special clothing like spirit shirts and shirts supporting colleges and universities, which are oftentimes quite expensive.

“If anyone would like to donate something for our children, we could always use gift cards, such as clothing or grocery store gift cards. Our weekly grocery bill averages $1,000, so those, in particular, would be a huge help,” she said.

Trejo added when some children first arrive at The Ark, they can’t stop eating, because food was not readily available at their homes. At The Ark, the children eat three meals a day, along with snacks.

“Many times, we have to reassure them there will be another meal soon,” she added.

Trejo was born in San Diego, Texas but also spent some of her childhood in Alice. She was raised on a ranch and recalls with great fondness waking up at 4 a.m. to help her father work the fields.

“I was probably ten years old, but it meant the world for me to spend this time with my dad. I’d sit there and drink coffee with him and everything,” she chuckled.

A percussionist in her school’s band, Trejo recalls growing up in a home filled with love. Her parents always made sure she and her three siblings always received a new outfit for the first day of school. 

Upon graduating from high school, Trejo received an associate degree in Police Science from Del Mar College and a BA in Criminal Justice from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. She worked at a security company and the Nueces County Sheriff’s Department before joining Catholic Social Services.

By this time, Trejo, Sister Milagros Tormo, MJMJ and the late Rev. Monsignor Robert E. Freeman began to investigate what it would take to open an emergency shelter for the Corpus Christi area. By December 1999, The Ark received its first state license.

For Trejo, it’s all about the love and safety of the children experiencing the most difficult time of their young lives.

“The best part of my job is seeing the children laugh and play without a care in the world. At The Ark, children have a chance to forget the trauma they have experienced and just enjoy being a child.”