Established in 1984 as a program of the Outagamie County Department of Human Services, Harbor House Domestic Abuse Programs began as a grassroots organization offering a safe shelter and basic crisis services to women and children hurt by domestic abuse.
Harbor House became an independent, private nonprofit agency on Jan. 1, 1997, and one year later, opened an outreach office in Chilton to better serve the needs of Calumet County families.
On Sept. 5, 2001, Harbor House moved to its current location at 720 W. Fifth St. in Appleton, a 59,000-square-foot facility with 44 shelter beds refurbished to meet growing demands for shelter, to expand existing services and to develop new programs in response to regional needs.
Today, Harbor House is far more than a safe place; it is an integrated and supportive community, surrounding women and children with a comprehensive range of program options. All of our programming is offered within a compassionate community of new friends, knowledgeable staff members, and dedicated volunteers—many of whom are also abuse survivors. Although Harbor House does not refuse services to anyone based on area of residence, our primary service area remains Outagamie and Calumet counties.
For full details of the historical highlights from Harbor House’s first 25 years,click here
Mission and Programs
The mission of Harbor House is to lead a community-wide partnership in the prevention of domestic violence and abuse, and to offer safety and support to diverse families in crisis.
Six key programs provide the vehicle for us to carry out our mission. They are as follow:
- Shelter Program (a safe place, 24-hour crisis helpline and emergency transportation)
- Children’s Program (individual and group support, advocacy and education)
- Women’s Program (individual and group support, advocacy and referral)
- Community Education Program (prevention education primarily in schools, training for professionals and community presentations and awareness-building events)
- Domestic Violence Intervention Program (perpetrator assessments, education sessions and monitoring of offender programs)
- Volunteer Program (opportunities for ongoing adult and teen involvement)