A McAllen mother says she's been fighting to keep her and her children safe for over a year.

She says repeated threats from her husband have left her desperate for protection. 

For Abigail Casas, the past year has been a relentless battle.

"I've really tried getting help this past year," Casas said. "We've relocated many, many times just because the protective order is not in place."

Casas says that order will secure the protection she says her family urgently needs.

"There's nothing that I can do at this point but just keep moving and keep moving and keep making reports, but it's like I hit a wall every time."

Casas says when she met her husband several years ago, he was a different man. She came into the marriage with one child, and had another with him.

She says one day something changed in him.

"He just became very dangerous, and it wasn't like it gradually happened, it was like from one day to the next. It was like I got punched in the stomach from one day to the next and lost my breath," Casas said.

Last December, her husband was jailed for a separate crime. Casas decided to separate from him over the summer.

In early November, after he was released on bond, he started calling Casas.

"He'll call and threaten us to the point of 'I'm going to end your life,' 'I'm going to end the kids' life,' and 'I'm not going back to jail' and 'you're going to drop the charges'," Casas said.

Channel 5 News reached out to Hidalgo County District Attorney Terry Palacios.

While he says he couldn't discuss this specific case because it's ongoing, he did clarify what options victims have, including how to seek a protective order.

"If the incident happens right away, it's almost automatic, either Edinburg or McAllen PD will issue an emergency protective order. Next, they'll give you anywhere from 30, at least 30 days, to go to the DA's office to get something more permanent," Palacios said.

Palacios adds this year, the DA's office has help over 1,500 people get a protective order and that they keep working to grant more.

He says protective orders and services for victims are available, even while your case is still working its way through the system.

"Starting from the local PDs, liaisons, there's the DA's office, Mujeres Unidas. If you need to reach out to somebody different there's a lot of help you, don't need to be a victim," Palacios said.

For Casas, that process still feels like a fight, one she says she'll keep pushing through for her family.

"I don't want to become a statistic, and I don't want my kids to become statistics either. So just find that fire in you and keep going for your safety," Casas said.

Watch the video above for the full story.