Mary & Martha House celebrates 35 years
By LOIS KINDLE
There are many beneficent charities making a difference in South Shore, but few have had greater impact than Mary & Martha House. For the past 35 years, the Ruskin-based shelter for abused and homeless women and their children has given promising futures to thousands of lives torn apart by domestic violence.
The nonprofit organization was founded in 1982 by Mary Sue Taylor, Priscilla Mixon, Pat Spears, Brenda Hyde and Hal Ott, a group of community volunteers who had worked tirelessly to determine the need for an emergency shelter in rural southern Hillsborough County. Mixon was named board president and Taylor its first executive director.
When Taylor left the position in 1985, Mixon replaced her and led the organization until 2007.
“I worked from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., speaking everywhere I could to build support to fund our efforts,” Mixon said. “From 1982 to 1990, we rented any house that was available and converted as many rooms into bedrooms as possible. Often, just as we readied a house, it would sell.”
In 1990 Mary & Martha House purchased its first shelter home in Ruskin, which included an office.
By the time Mixon retired, the nonprofit organization had three shelter homes, an apartment building, an office and thrift store on First Street, two individual apartments and an upstairs classroom in the domed building on Shell Point Road used to teach English to migrants.
“We couldn’t have done what we did without hundreds of volunteers and the financial support we received from the community,” Mixon said.
Laurie Kepler succeeded Mixon and has been the executive director of Mary & Martha House since 2007. Former board member and local retailer Jan Falcione was hired in 2008 to run the thrift store. Five years later, she oversaw the opening the more upscale Rose Boutique as a second revenue generator and has since been named operations manager. And Laurie Herring came onboard in 2009 as a case manager specialist and now directs programs and housing.
These three, along with a fulltime caseworker and an intake specialist, comprise the current staff at Mary & Martha House.
Unmasking domestic violence
National statistics compiled by Mary & Martha House show that every nine seconds a woman is assaulted or beaten in this country. One in three have been physically abused and one in five severely so by an intimate partner. And domestic violence accounts for 15 percent of all violent crimes.
“People often wonder why these women don’t just leave their abusers,” Kepler said. “But if they choose to leave, 83 percent of them become homeless. Where will they sleep? What will they do? How will they care for their children?
“It’s the fear of the unknown that keeps them in place.”
Mary & Martha House provides victims of domestic violence much more than a place to stay, something to eat and clothing to replace what they were forced to leave behind. Unlike traditional shelters that allow stays for up to six weeks, it provides a safe, comfortable environment for women and their children for up to a year. It also provides the women with job and life-management skills training so they can rebuild their lives and transition into permanent homes.
None of this could be accomplished without public and private grants and community support.
Over the years, Mary & Martha House has received donations from large organizations like the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay, Interfaith Council of Sun City Center, Verizon Foundation, TECO and the Mabel & Ellsworth and Mabel Simmons Charitable Foundation and smaller groups like the Aqua Viva Divas, Keller Williams Realty SouthShore and BB&T Bank.
The Leadership Brandon Class of 2017 is currently raising money to help covert the Mary & Martha House garage into a usable family resource center. Thus far, it’s donated more than $13,000 towards that goal.
And then there’s the countless donations of clubs, churches and individuals throughout the community.
Mary & Martha House supplements these donations with proceeds from sales at its two retail centers and annual fundraisers.
“We help 60 to 80 families per year on a minimal budget,” Kepler said. “For every dollar raised or donated, $2 goes back to the community. That’s a solid rate of return.”
For more information, call 813-645-7874 or visit www.marymarthahouse.org.