Company Profile
Rosie's Place
Company Overview
Rosie's Place was founded in 1974 as the first women-only shelter in the United States. What began as a safe place for poor and homeless women to get a bed and a meal in Boston has grown into a community center providing wide-ranging support, education and outreach services to 12,000 women a year.
Rosie’s Place relies solely on the generous support of individuals, foundations and corporations and does not accept any city, state or federal funding. We are proud that 88 cents of every dollar raised goes directly to services for women in need.
Our mission is to provide a safe and nurturing environment that helps poor and homeless women maintain their dignity, seek opportunity and find security in their lives.
Our vision is based on the words of our founder, Kip Tiernan, "Never forget that charity is scraps from the table and justice is a seat at the table. Charity is giving to others what belongs to you. Justice is giving others what belongs to them.” At Rosie's Place, we believe diversity, equity and inclusion are core components of justice. We commit to acting on a daily basis to dismantle injustice to ensure that opportunities and equitable outcomes are available to all members of our community regardless of individual characteristics including race, color, religion, national origin, gender, gender identity, age, sexual orientation or perceived ability.
Our unique philosophy sets us apart from other service organizations. Our core values, such as unconditional love and a commitment to social justice, inform all we do for the women we call our “guests.”
Rosie’s Place founder Kip Tiernan saw women dressing as men to receive services at area shelters and said, “We can do better than that.” On Easter Sunday 1974, Kip, with four other volunteers and $250 donated by friends, opened the doors to Rosie’s Place in an empty supermarket on Columbus Avenue in Boston’s South End. And the rest is history.
Company History
In the early 1970’s, Rosie’s Place founder and social justice activist Kip Tiernan volunteered with St. Philip's/Warwick House, a Boston-based Catholic civil rights and anti-war movement ministry. Her work took her into housing projects, jails and hospitals where she saw the needs of poor and homeless people. Kip was particularly struck by the sight of women who tried to disguise themselves as men in order to get a meal in men-only Boston shelters, as there was no shelter for homeless women. Kip envisioned a place where poor and homeless women would have a bed, a meal and somewhere other than the streets to meet, where they would be loved unconditionally.
On Easter Sunday 1974, Kip, with four other volunteers and $250 donated by friends, opened the doors to Rosie’s Place in the empty Rozen’s Supermarket on Columbus Avenue in Boston’s South End. It was the first women-only shelter in the United States. They chose the name Rosie’s Place because it held no connotations and sounded like it could be a women’s coffeehouse or favorite aunt’s kitchen; “Rosie” is no one in particular, yet all the women we serve. A decision was made at the outset to accept no city, state, or federal money to ensure Rosie’s Place’s independence from outside demands, policies or prejudices.
On opening day in 1974 there were more volunteers than guests. Small, pink notices that read, “If you need a meal, come here and we’ll help you” were distributed among women in the neighborhood. From that day, the word about Rosie’s Place spread and the number of women who came by began to grow. Over four decades later, Rosie’s Place has evolved from providing meals and shelter at that former supermarket to a multi-service community center that works to create answers for 12,000 women a year through wide-ranging support, education and outreach services.
Benefits
Rosie’s Place offers a robust benefits package, including medical and dental insurance, 403(b) retirement plan, pension plan contributions, paid vacation, and more.