House Of Ruth Maryland, Inc.

HRM leads the fight to end violence against women and children.  Serves over 13,000 annually through emergency shelter, transitional housing, counseling, legal, teen education and outreach services.  24-Hour Hotline 410-889-RUTH(7884). (United Way Central MD #143)

Why do we exist?

The House Of Ruth Maryland (HRM) was created to provide a safe shelter for battered women and their children. Over the course of the past thirty years we realized that in order to help these victims move from a life a violence we had to address more than just their need for shelter. As a result, today we provide a full range of services including: emergency shelter, counseling services, childcare, legal services, and transitional housing.

HRM is unique among other domestic violence agencies because we believe that we are not just here to provide services to victims of domestic violence. We are here to stop the violence before it begins. As a result of this belief, we offer a continuum of care that is not limited only to the victim’s immediate and basic needs of shelter and crisis intervention but also endeavors to address the root causes of domestic violence. HRM offers programs that work to permanently stop the cycle of violence. These include the abuser intervention program that aims to systemically challenge an abuser’s belief system; our teen outreach program designed to teach young people about healthy relationships; community advocacy and education activities; state-wide legislative advocacy; and professional trainings to teach employers about the signs of abuse and what they can do to help their employees if they suspect that abuse is occurring

Domestic violence occurs on a daily basis to neighbors, to co-workers, to friends, and to family members. It does not discriminate because of religion, race, class, or economic and education levels. It affects entire families. It happens to people you know and care about.

What have you accomplished?

Last year, HRM provided services to nearly 13,000 Marylanders. LaRaine was one of those. Her husband put a shotgun under her chin as she slept and pulled the trigger. She stayed in our shelter as police searched for her husband after he jumped bail. Or Karen who called our hotline at four in the morning from a phone booth a mile from her house where she just ran from, clutching her four-month-old son as her husband chased them with a butcher knife. Then there was Tanya and her three children who came to our shelter after sleeping in their car for two weeks because she knew if she went home, her husband would kill them.

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