WCS~DdM was founded in 1977, when volunteers secured a grant to open the safe shelter, Mariposa House. The agency continued to grow to meet the need for safe shelter and services to domestic violence victims. In 1987, the agency became one of the first Rape Crisis Centers to be funded in California, and was instrumental in developing and implementing one of the first Sexual Assault Response Teams in the nation. We currently serve approximate 1,500 victims of domestic violence and sexual assault each year.

Many of our efforts are directed at the under-served Latino population in Santa Cruz County. All of our crisis intervention and prevention services are available in Spanish and English and are culturally sensitive. Printed materials are also available in both languages. Our outreach efforts have concentrated on poor Latino neighborhoods with residents that have several barriers to seeking services, including language, literacy and legal status issues, and cultural biases. We are extremely proud of our success in serving this special population.