Abby Kelley Foster House, Inc. (Abby’s House) was incorporated in 1976, and that year it opened one of the first overnight emergency shelters for women with or without children in the U.S. Abby’s House was formed at the beginning of the battered women’s movement – there were no paradigms to follow in organizational development. Instead, the volunteers who ran the shelter listened carefully to the needs of the women and responded accordingly. The spirit of empowerment, sisterhood and mutuality embodied by the original volunteer activists continues to inform program delivery today.

Brochure

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Abby’s House Facts

Abby’s House is committed to ending homelessness, and in this spirit we have not expanded shelter services, rather we have greatly expanded our management of service-enriched, affordable housing. Beginning by renovating a former crack house into 16 beautiful, safe units of housing next to the emergency shelter, Abby’s House now manages 78 units of housing in three locations near downtown Worcester, Massachusetts.

Every year at Abby’s House

• about 300 women and children stay in our emergency shelter, where they work with an advocate to achieve short-term goals and the stability needed to prevent future homelessness;
• over 100 women and children live in our long-term, service-enriched housing, where they work with advocates to achieve the highest possible level of independence;
• thousands of women speak with our emergency shelter advocate and obtain counseling and information on domestic violence and on emergency housing options;
• over 100 women access our Women’s Center – providing homelessness prevention programming to current and former shelter guests and residents;
• thousands of meals are served, and celebratory feasts are held at major holidays, including International Women’s Day;
• thousands of community members receive our newsletter, A Bright Spot in the City, and many community groups hear Abby’s House speakers talk about issues of women living in poverty;
• about 200 active and enthusiastic volunteers receive training that will help them to provide welcome and a sense of safety to women and children who are trauma survivors.

Abby’s House collaborates with many organizations in the community that provide specific services, such as: housing, legal services, mental and physical health services; and education.

We provide our programs with the financial support of individuals, community groups, private foundations, family foundations and corporations. Eighty-nine cents of every dollar donated to Abby’s House goes directly to programs for homeless and battered women and children.