Miller, Maida M., 1919-2006

Maida Miller worked at the Florence Crittenton Home of Seattle from 1959 until shortly before its closing in 1973. She started at the Seattle home as a housemother, later becoming the bookkeeper, and then Institutional Manager.

Florence Crittenton homes are residential care facilities for teenage girls who are pregnant, parenting, or at-risk. Originally opened as refuges for young prostitutes, the homes soon became maternity centers for young, often poor, unmarried pregnant women, providing medical care, therapy, support services, and educational opportunities. After 1960, many homes discontinued in-house medical services and focused on counseling, education, and support for young women and families, and public advocacy on behalf of at-risk teenagers, particularly unmarried, pregnant girls. The first Florence Crittenton home was opened on Bleecker Street in New York on 19 Apr. 1883. Charles Crittenton, a wealthy New York businessman, had become despondent after the death of his four-year-old daughter Florence from scarlet fever. Finding comfort in religion, he began evangelizing to young prostitutes. Realizing that they would need lodging and support in order to have hope of leaving such circumstances, Crittenton devoted the rest of his life to providing a safe haven and rehabilitation for these women. In 1890, Crittenton decided that such homes should be established nationwide; thirteen homes were opened by 1893. The Florence Crittenton Home of Seattle was opened on 21 Nov. 1899, with two maternity wards and space for 50 women. A larger home, built on the same property, was opened in 1926. The home closed temporarily during World War II, when the city of Seattle leased the Florence Crittenton building and property for use as a venereal disease quick treatment center. In the late 1940s, the delivery of babies was moved out of the Home itself and into a local hospital; by 1951, all medical care was handled by staff doctors at Swedish hospital. A 1953 wing added residential and administrative space; in 1965, four cottages increased capacity from 40 to 90 residents. Though there was a waiting list for beds in the 1960s, by the 1970s the climate had begun to change. Society became more accepting of unwed mothers, for whom more resources were available; the number of residents at the Seattle home dropped dramatically. In 1973, the Seattle Home, already in debt, lost crucial funding from the United Way because of a lack of need for its services. On 15 Mar. 1973 the facility was closed. The building currently houses the Thunderbird Treatment Center, operated by the Seattle Indian Health Board, and providing treatment for Native Americans with chemical substance dependency.