Rutland Corner House (Boston, Mass.)

Founded as the "Home for Working Women" in 1877, and incorporated in 1878 as the "Temporary Home for Working Women," Rutland Corner House provided a place where "women desirous of making an honest living, but penniless and friendless, may find shelter and employment until able to secure a permanent position." In the first year of operation, 368 women were given shelter in a house on Tremont Street, Boston. Laundry and sewing rooms were set up for the working residents, whose clients were mostly local hospitals. The Home was administered by a Board of Managers, who paid a matron and assistants to live in and oversee the residents. In 1886 a permanent building was purchased at 453 Shawmut Avenue, at the corner of Rutland Street. The three prerequisites for admission were "poverty, respectability, and ability to work." Most residents were referred through social agencies, although some were accepted directly from the streets.

In the early 1920s the Home discontinued its industries in laundry and sewing due to the postwar boom. In 1925 the name was changed to Rutland Corner House. The Board noticed an increase in "undesirable types" among the residents, and the House's new function became to serve as temporary lodging for girls and women awaiting final placement by various agencies. This changed composition of residents continued through the 1940s and early 1950s, as illustrated in an annual report from 1947: "Among those helped were unmarried mothers, psychopathic cases, those discharged from hospitals, young runaways, and court cases." With increasing specialization of social service agencies, the Board came to believe that the House served too varied a clientele to be effective, and should focus their efforts on a specific group of individuals.

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