About
Our Mission
Our mission is to create a society in which domestic violence no longer exists.
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We strive to meet the immediate and long-term needs of the diverse community of battered women and their children with programs that promote safety, compassion, connection, advocacy, and prevention.
Our Vision
Each day we help survivors of domestic violence in Atlanta improve their safety by finding a safe place to stay, exercising their legal rights, exploring options and creating accountability for batterers. We greet survivors with compassion – no judgment, no second-guessing, and no shame. We provide connection - through relationships built with our staff, support groups and bonds forged with fellow safe house guests. By linking women and other survivors with community supports and offering our services, we make sure no one has to take this walk alone. Equally importantly, we provide a voice for survivors when they cannot speak for themselves and a platform for those who can speak to be heard. Our advocacy for survivors of domestic violence works to change the culture that allows abuse to thrive. That advocacy, coupled with our powerful work with children, facilitates prevention and ending domestic violence altogether.
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Women's Resource Center is an LGBTQ+ affirming agency. Services are provided to all people inclusive of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
"I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own."
Audre Lorde
Our History
In June of 1985, Gwendolyn Ann Turnbough was working with the DeKalb County District Attorney to protect herself from an abusive ex-husband. Upon his release from jail, her former husband immediately tracked her down. One morning as she was leaving for work, he shot and killed her in the presence of their eleven-year-old son. That same month, Commissioner Sherry Schulman established the DeKalb County Domestic Violence Task Force to investigate the issue in our county. After several months of study, the Task Force determined a need for additional domestic violence resources, system changes, and a greater emphasis on community education. To meet that need, the county granted $10,000 to create a victim service agency and the Women’s Resource Center was born. Gwendolyn's daughter from her first marriage later grew up to be Pulitzer Prize-winner and former US Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey, who writes extensively about her mother's life. Gwendolyn and Natasha are pictured right.
