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About Us
History
In 1978, the Women's Advocacy Center (WAC) was formed by four women who were deeply concerned about the plight of victims of domestic violence. Carolyn Ankenny, Stephanie Davis, Kathy Adams House, and Debbie Morelli formed WAC in an effort to provide counseling and other services to battered women. The group applied for and received a grant of $6,000 from the Youth Project, a private foundation. This enabled Ms. Morelli to work as the director of WAC, and her office was housed with Hotline.
In the first few months of WAC's existence, fewer than a dozen on-call volunteers assisted victims of domestic violence by providing them with support and counseling. These volunteers accompanied victims to the emergency room, advised them of their legal rights, and often paid for motel rooms when there was no place for the victims and their children to stay. Although there were shelters in Charleston for men, no such shelter existed for women.
As more women were referred to WAC volunteers, the need for a shelter became apparent. In 1979, Reid House, a United Way agency, provided space at its daycare center to house victims of domestic violence. This shelter, staffed solely by volunteers, was in operation for about a year and a half. However, lack of funds caused the shelter to close.
With the closing of Reid House, WAC experienced organizational problems and needed time to regroup and establish a funding base. However, calls from battered women continued to inundate the local telephone counseling service, which took over WAC's telephone counseling services when WAC volunteers were not available. In an effort to better meet the needs of victims of domestic violence, WAC and the Board of Directors' for Further, Inc., had several meetings in order to combine the two agencies. When it became apparent that no workable agreement could be reached, Further board members decided to actively work towards opening a shelter.
With the support of the Further board, Stephanie Davis devoted most of her time, both professional and private, towards raising funds for the shelter. She also had the active support of the Charleston Commission for Women, on which she served. For a period of six months, Ms. Davis marshaled support from a large and varied number of community agencies and organizations.
With so much grass roots support, it soon became apparent that the shelter would become a reality. The Charleston Presbytery was the first to pledge support by donating $300 per month to pay for rent for the first year of the shelter's operation. Volunteers In Service to America (VISTA) donated three VISTA volunteers to staff the shelter. The sum of $15,000 was pledged by Charleston County and $5,000 from the City of Charleston. Countless other individuals and groups provided help and over $35,000 was raised. A suitable facility was located in North Charleston and Ms. Davis named the shelter "My Sister's House."
In November 1980, the Further board, with Dr. Frank van Aalst as its president, hired Jennie Calhoun as the shelter's director. Three trained VISTA volunteers, Carolyn Ankenny, Anna Johnson and Leila Jones, helped staff the shelter, along with numerous volunteers. My Sister's House opened its doors in December 1980.
All of the members of Further's board were involved in seeing that the new shelter opened and was funded. After several months, however, it became apparent that one board could not adequately meet the diverse needs of both Hotline and My Sister's House. Therefore, in July 1981, a separate board for My Sister's House was formed. Some Further board members remained with Hotline and others formed the board for My Sister's House. Dr. Elise Davis-McFarland became the president of the new board. Once separated, the new board could seek additional funds and concentrate on strengthening its organization.
As the shelter's director, Ms. Calhoun concentrated on obtaining funds for the shelter and was very successful in this effort. An application for funding from the Department of Social Services was approved and $60,000 was granted for the period of July 1982 to June 1983. An application to United Way resulted in a one-time-only grant of nearly $8,000. There was also a surplus of funds from the first year of operation. Funding ceased to be an immediate concern, and the staff could direct more of its efforts to expanding the program's services and to locating a larger facility.
The original facility was no longer large enough to house the number of women who needed shelter. Many women and children had to be turned away each month. In the spring of 1982, city property became available that would be suitable for use by the organization. In May, staff, volunteers, and residents moved to their new home. In July 1983, Martha Towle replaced Jennie Calhoun, who moved to Washington, as the shelter director.
In 1985, Ms. Towle married and moved to Atlanta. Georgia. After this early period of rapid growth and development, there followed a period of relative stability under the leadership of Lou Ann White (1985-1986), who was followed by Connie Doperalia (1987-1988).
In 1988, Phyllis A. Malchano became executive director. During her tenure, the organization completed its move to a new 7,000-square-foot facility. State of the art technology was applied to security, record keeping, computerization, and the like. Programs, which empowered women, aided children, and educated the larger community were developed and expanded.
In February 1991, Elmire Raven became executive director. The new shelter expanded to its current size of 9,500 square feet. In 1993, an endowment fund was established and in 1995 the mortgage on the shelter was paid off. In 1997, the Family Court Advocacy Program was created. This program has enhanced and expanded this organizationŐs ability to provide necessary support for domestic violence victims within the family court system.
In August 2002, an administrative office building was acquired. This new building has afforded this organization the opportunity to provide follow-up therapeutic services; a donation drop off site; a support group location; and a location for volunteer interviews, as well as, training.
Each day, new ideas are developed and explored to further enhance the quality of services to clients of My Sister's House. Again in keeping with the empowerment of women and the movement of non-violence, political, and social equality of the 90s, My Sister's House continues to advance the cause of women's issues. At the same time, the organization provides for the basic physical needs of food, shelter, and clothing for abused women and their children, while also addressing psychological needs of self-esteem, autonomy, self-respect, self-worth, and ultimately, self-actualization.
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