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Domestic Violence Resources Directory
If you’re struggling to cope in an abusive relationship, you’re not alone. Experts estimate that over 10 million Americans are affected by domestic violence every year. Whether it’s physical or verbal abuse, it’s not OK, and you can take action to stop it. These vetted helplines are here for you.
Abby’s House
Domestic Violence Resource
How We Help:Abby’s House is committed to ending homelessness. In this spirit, we have expanded the number of service-enriched, affordable housing units and converted two abandoned houses into beautiful homes.
History:
The concept of Abby's House began with an invitation to Annette Rafferty from the Worcester Urban Ministry Commission. It was ... early 1973, and pastors, rabbis and ministers were overwhelmed with requests to house the “new homeless” -- women and children. At the time, there were only three shelter beds for women in Worcester.
As chair of the Task Force, Annette was charged with identifying the need and creating a concrete solution. As a result of their research ,which mainly consisted of street outreach, Annette and the Task Force recommended opening a shelter. However, the recommendation was voted down by the Commission and Annette resigned. She knew that if no one was going to take action now for these women, it was not going to get done.
In the months that followed, a collective of women and men held meetings, sent letters, fundraised, generated publicity and searched for a property to site the shelter. Annette would later recall the moment she resigned from the Commission. Some members reminded Annette that she had neither the skills nor the training to work with the homeless, let alone establish a shelter. In addition, there were no funds available for shelters at this time.
Annette thought: “…in the realm of practical considerations, to follow the advice to wait for funds and training would have made sense. But I was no longer living in the realm of practical considerations. I had passed over, so to speak, to another space in time and was no longer willing to follow conventional wisdom.”
By the time the shelter door opened on Crown Street on June 7, 1976, hundreds of people had committed themselves to the project. Some worked on furnishing the rooms, and others held bake sales and solicited funds from their neighbors, churches and workplaces. The Worcester community responded with enthusiasm, and offered assistance with the incorporation of the organization and other legal issues.
Women signed up to staff the shelter, while others picked up the laundry each day, brought it home and returned it clean that evening. A group of students from the College of the Holy Cross signed up to staff the shelter and established their volunteer legacy at Abby's House that is stronger than ever, 35 years later. A strong tradition of volunteerism and community support had begun, a tradition that has sustained Abby's growth to the present. Read More »
How We Help:The Mary Byron Project's mission is to foster innovations and strategies to end domestic violence.
History:
The Mary Byron Project was established in 2000 in memory of the young woman whose tragic murder led to the creation of automa ...ted crime victim notification technologies. As a nationally recognized thought leader on domestic violence, the Mary Byron Project cultivates and supports efforts that extend beyond crisis management to attack the root causes of this epidemic and help build safer, healthier communities.
Domestic violence is an epidemic throughout the United States, but few communities are able to find the resources to do much more than provide crisis management after the crime has already occurred. Recognizing that domestic violence is a generational crime, producing new batterers who have grown up with batterers as models, the Mary Byron Project knows this approach isn't enough.
Under the direction of our Board of Directors and Overseers, we foster and support innovative solutions to domestic violence across the country.Read More »
