Transition House

Transition House was founded in 1976 when Cherie Jimenez and Chris Womendez opened their five-room apartment as a refuge for battered women and their children; it was the first shelter of its kind in Massachusetts. It has moved several times and expanded to include volunteers and paid staff offering support for legal, welfare, and housing advocacy; a crisis hotline; and outreach programs. The Dating Violence Intervention Project, initiated in 1986, is a collaboration between Transition House and Emerge, an intervention program for violent and abusive men. In 1992, DVIP collaborated with the Massachusetts Criminal Justice Training Council to develop a pilot program for police officers and educators. Transition House has also collaborated with Boston and Cambridge public schools to raise consciousness about battering.