In 1973, community volunteers organized a rape crisis line. Originally, CHS served Marion, Polk and Yamhill counties. In the 1990s, we assisted community members in starting Henderson House (serving Yamhill County) and SABLE House (serving Polk County).
During the first eight years, the number of calls to the crisis line increased from 112 the first year to over 5,800. Today, the Center for Hope & Safety (CHS), formerly known as Mid-Valley Women’s Crisis Service, averages approximately 20,000 contacts to our program per year. To date, we have received more than 385,000 contacts to our program.
In 1991, the crisis line became bilingual, offering crisis intervention and referrals to Spanish speaking victims in our community 24 hours a day. In 1998, the Language Line was added, allowing us access to 140 different languages.
The first paid staff members were hired in 1977 and they formed a support group for women who had been abused. Support group has met continuously since that year. In addition, the following groups were introduced: a group for women who speak Spanish in 1991, a group for survivors of sexual assault in 1997, and a group for Spanish-speaking women in Woodburn in 2001. Today, we offer five support groups in English and Spanish, in urban and rural Marion County.
With funding from the City of Salem Community Development program, the agency bought a shelter in 1981. Today, 250-500 adults and children reside in shelter each year. To date, we have provided more than 140,000 nights of shelter to adults and children.
Almost from the beginning, staff and volunteers at CHS worked to educate the community. Since we began tracking statistics in 1984, CHS has provided training to over 159,000 community members. CHS averages more than 250 speaking engagements and trainings each year.
In 1994 CHS opened the Vietta Helmle Transition House for Women. Named for one of the founders and a long-term Executive Director, the transition house offered longer term housing for women leaving our shelter. The Transition House was sold in 2013, but transitional housing opportunities continue through partnerships with other nonprofits in the community.
In 2000, a website was added, which offers all our written materials in various languages. Within two years, the website was averaging over 20,000 contacts a month and was listed as a link on several state and national websites.
In 2010, CHS received 1.7 FTE positions and two co-located advocates were hired to work within the Child Welfare and Self-Sufficiency offices in Marion County. In 2014, an additional bilingual co-located advocate was added for Child Welfare.
In 2013, CHS started a capital campaign to purchase a new advocacy office. Located at 605 Center Street NE, the new office is nearly four times the space of the office at 795 Winter Street NE and allows for expanded services and greater access for those we serve. The capital campaign was successful, and the building was paid off in less than two years.
September 2014 was a big month for the agency. Staff moved into the new office and the agency officially adopted a new identity. Mid-Valley Women’s Crisis Service became the Center for Hope & Safety and the website moved to http://www.hopeandsafety.org. The new name was decided by a process involving input from volunteers, Board, staff and community members.
In late 2015, CHS began a “quiet” capital campaign to raise funds to open a new shelter. In a little over a year the funds were raised, and two shelter homes were purchased. This allows CHS to provide separate spaces for victims with children and those without. In 2017, CHS began the “Safe Paws” campaign to raise funds to build kennels on site, in order for survivors to bring their pets with them when they come into shelter.
CHS purchased the former Greyhound building (444-460 Church Street NE) adjacent to the Advocacy Office in 2015. CHS has demolished the previous structure and will ultimately add onto the current office (enlarging the donations and training spaces) and build transitional housing opportunities for survivors of violence.
Organizationally, CHS has always been a grassroots, volunteer operation. Volunteers still form the backbone of the crisis line and shelter services, assist in support groups and direct agency policies. Other volunteers and local groups take on a wide range of projects.
CHS continues to find new ways to meet the needs of survivors of domestic and sexual violence in our community. Thank you for being part of the story!