Starting this week, RMA is collecting household necessities for My Sister’s House. The purpose of My Sister’s House is to shelter women and children who are suffering from domestic violence. Since their abusers are usually in the same household, these women need another place to stay, and My Sister’s House provides that. 

The idea for a women’s shelter in this area was first created in 1978 by a group of four women. Their vision expanded and eventually turned into the creation of My Sister’s House, which opened it’ doors in November 1980. While these women are provided with shelter and have access to group and individual counseling sessions with clinical therapists. They also have an Advocacy Program that was established to provide victims of domestic abuse with legal help. Most victims don’t realize what they have been through is abuse until later in their lives, so less than 3% of people press charges against their abusers. The goal of My Sister’s House is to “provide [women] with a safe, private, confidential environment where they can not only make decisions but take action to make those decisions a reality.” 

Two of our very own RMA students are involved with this organization. Maria Falconi(7) and Mckenna Rowe(7) are the leaders of the Middle School Spanish Immersion Club. Mackenna explains, “last year, we had a Spanish-speaking guest speaker come in and explain what My Sister’s House was and what they needed from us.”  Statistically, more than ⅓ of Hispanic women face domestic abuse at some point of their lives. They started working with My Sister’s House because they wanted to help the less fortunate women and children of the local Hispanic community. This week, Mckenna and Maria are asking for donations of sheets, towels, linens, etc. Students should bring donations to their homerooms, and whichever homeroom has the most donations in Lower, Middle, and Upper School, l will receive a pizza party as a prize (a total of three pizza parties).