Si Cantwell
It all started with an old metal desk.
The organization now known as Domestic Violence Shelter and Services was formed by a merger of two small nonprofits. Mary Ann Lama was hired Nov. 1, 1985, to start the agency.
Today, the organization shelters victims of domestic abuse and operates public awareness and prevention programs. Since its founding in January 1986, it has sheltered more than 8,000 people, including 53 men, and provided services to more than 70,000 people, 13,000 of them children.
Demand has been rising as family problems are magnified by the pandemic.
The organization recently purchased a new, larger shelter to replace the one closed by Hurricane Florence in 2018. In 2020, Lama turned 65 and handed over the reins to new Executive Director Lauren Daley, who was director of operations and development.