Herstory

Chronological History of ADWAS

(From present to past)

1986 to 2011 — Served over 2,250 clients; over 30,000 people have received education & training. ADWAS has gone from a financial base of $4,000 to an annual operating budget of nearly $1.9 million. ADWAS now has 18 staff.

2011 – March — ADWAS' new Executive Director, Tiffany Williams, begins.

2009 – 2010 — ADWAS trains 24 cities across America to replicate the ADWAS model through a grant from the Department of Justice.

2009 – December — ADWAS' Executive Director, Marilyn J. Smith, announces her plan to retire in 2011.

2009 – October — ADWAS receives three more years of Transitional Housing Program funds from the Office of Violence Against Women in the DOJ; ADWAS also receives new funding for Culturally and Linguistically Specific Services which includes developing a new domestic violence video and expand its education program to other counties in Western Washington.

2009 – April — Washington Family Fund grants ADWAS five years of funding for services for tenants in A Place of Our Own.

2007 – January — The Transitional Housing Program is filled to capacity.

2006 – October — The office of Violence Against Women in The Department of Justice awards ADWAS a 3 year $350,000 grant for the new Transitional Housing Program.

2006 – September — Open house for A Place of Our Own.

2005 – August 30 — Construction begins on A Place of Our Own.

2005 – March 28 — Ceremonial groundbreaking at the property site – 88th and Roosevelt.

2003 — ADWAS is awarded a contract from the National Domestic Violence Hotline to manage the National Abused Deaf Hotline.

2001 — ADWAS hires its first Donor Development Coordinator to expand its capacity to secure donors from the hearing community with no affiliation to the Deaf community.

2000 — ADWAS applies for and receives a grant from the national Doors of Hope Foundation to establish a national coalition of the 15 replicated organizations and ADWAS.

1999 — ADWAS' board of directors approves a five-year strategic plan that includes the development of a A Place of Our Own — transitional housing for Deaf and Deaf-Blind victims of abuse with on-site services and administrative offices.

1998 — ADWAS is awarded a $300,000 grant from the Department of Justice to train Deaf people, from 15 cities across America, to replicate the ADWAS model. A total of 75 Deaf women received the training over three years. The cities are:

• Austin, Texas
• Denver, Colorado
• Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Detroit/Flint, Michigan
• Boston, Massachusetts
• Burlington, Vermont
• Rochester, New York
• Columbus, Ohio
• San Francisco/Bay Area, California
• Honolulu, Hawaii
• Salt Lake City, Utah
• Metro Washington D.C.
• Chicago, Illinois
• Des Moines, Iowa
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

1996 — The ADWAS Executive Director (Marilyn J. Smith) receives an award for "Outstanding Services on Behalf of Victims of Crime" from President Clinton during a ceremony at the White House.

1995 — The Positive Parenting Program begins providing training to Deaf or mixed (hearing and Deaf) couples. Its purpose is to break generational abuse by helping Deaf and Deaf-Blind parents learn and use positive parenting skills. This service was in response to Deaf parents in the community asking for help.

1991 — ADWAS develops an Education and Training Program and hires their first Education Coordinator. At this time, the education focus is primarily on the Deaf and Deaf-Blind communities. By 1994, the Education and Training Program expanded to provide training to professionals and consulting with individuals and organizations throughout the United States.

1990 — ADWAS makes the decision to make the office telephone number accessible by TTY only. This was a turning point for ADWAS as it is the only Deaf organization in the United States that does not answer voice calls. The staff and board made this decision so that the Deaf staff of ADWAS would have equal access to calls and would not be dependent on hearing people to answer telephone calls for them and to encourage hearing people to use the TTY and/or relay service to communicate with Deaf people.

1988 — ADWAS receives its second public grant from the City of Seattle. This funding has grown from an annual allocation of $5,000 to $70,602. ADWAS continues to develop services and programs to meet the needs of Deaf and Deaf-Blind child and adult victims.

1987 — ADWAS hires its second employee, Cathy Hoog, to work part-time as a Community Advocate; the 24/7 crisis line becomes operational.

1986 — ADWAS applies and receives $4,000 from the State of Washington, Department of Social and Health Services.

1986 — ADWAS is founded and Marilyn J. Smith becomes the Executive Director with the office located in the basement of her home. She manages the organization and provides one-to-one therapy services to Deaf and Deaf-Blind victims of abuse. The ADWAS office is phone-accessible by TTY only. It is also accessible for hearing people who do not have a TTY by calling the WA State Telecommunications Relay Service. ADWAS is the only agency of its kind in the United States.

1985 — Marilyn J. Smith organizes a group of Deaf women, hearing women, and parents of Deaf children to discuss how to address the needs of Deaf and Deaf-Blind victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in a fully accessible environment.

1986 — Today

In 25 years, ADWAS has gone from a financial base of $4,000 to nearly $1.9 million. ADWAS has gone from one staff person to eighteen. There are nine board members. The majority are Deaf, and no interpreters are used unless a member is Deaf-Blind. Since services began, there have been over 1,000 cases. Over 30,000 people have received education and training.