The Story of Rose House

Rose House (Healthy Families of Clallam County*) is a century-old treasure renovated to serve as a safe and supportive transitional home for women and children escaping domestic violence and moving toward a peaceful independence.

*Healthy Families is a tax-exempt, non-profit United Way agency that is our community’s primary provider of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse prevention and treatment, and chemical dependency services.

In 1992 the City of Port Angeles purchased the two houses located on the corner of 5th and Peabody with the intention of removing them to expand parking for the Vern Burton Community Convention Center. One of these homes, The Crumb house, had a rich history as a family home and as the first location of Hospice.

A Transition House had long been the personal dream of Laurey Hansen-Carl. Thanks to the efforts of three Soroptimist Clubs (Soroptimist International of Sequim, Soroptimist International of Port Angeles, and Soroptimist International of Port Angeles – Jet Set) her dream became a reality when the newly renovated Crumb house opened as the Rose House on September 10, 1995.

These three clubs initiated an extraordinary and unprecedented collaborative effort to complete the Rose House project with the help of the community.

These three clubs worked tirelessly and with great enthusiasm in order to give women and children a place to live that will help them grow into responsible citizens in a nurturing environment. The members are so involved in the community that they were able to enlist the help of other organizations and individuals. Many times, the necessary help came from one of the members knowing someone else. The success is that the home now houses families. Children are living in a home that is safe and wonderful. Mothers are going to school, are working, are learning to budget, how to be a responsible and caring parent, manage their anger, and to be a part of the community.