About EDVP: History, 1992-1995

The beginning of 1992 was a period of reorganization followed by rapid program growth. Aggie Sweeney started as Executive Director just before the end of 1991. With the cooperation and commitment of long-term board members, volunteers and staff, agency services were restored and service levels increased. The Long Range Plan for 1992-1995 was adopted, including a new agency philosophy statement, mission, goals, and operating objectives for the next three years. My Sister’s Home, the Eastside’s first confidential shelter for victims of domestic violence and their children, opened, enabling EDVP to provide a full continuum of prevention and crisis intervention services. With rapid growth in staff and with services being provided from three locations, many efforts were extended to enhance communications to better serve victims. The agency invested in a voice mail system and added more computers.

Stabilization following years of rapid growth and change marked 1993-1995. In its first full year of operations, My Sister’s Home confidential shelter provided 5,400 nights of safe shelter and supportive services to 286 women and children. The requests for safe shelter were far greater than the agency’s capacity to respond to them, and growing annually. The community-based programs (crisis line, supportive counseling groups and community advocacy) continued to help victims increase their safety and take steps to live free from violence. The community programs provided face-to-face services to over 700 battered women and their children, with services growing to 1,000 individuals annually.

New interagency collaborations were initiated, including the “Teen DV” Project with Youth Eastside Services and direct placement of a limited number of agency clients into permanent housing through King County Housing Authority’s Section 8 Program. In August 1994 the federal Violence Against Women Act was passed, focusing efforts and providing funding for new levels of system coordination. The pilot Phoenix Support Partner Project was implemented 1995-1996. Fund raising from the private sector grew substantially, with the addition of the annual bowl-a-thon and Love Shouldn’t Hurt breakfast, plus the spring auction. EDVP expanded its community advocacy outreach to 14 local jurisdictions throughout north and east King County, and focused program expansion in the north end of our service area. Calls on the crisis line grew to 6,500 annually plus 3,500 case management follow-ups to agency clients.

Page 4 of 5