The Guiding Principles of My Sister's Place,

A Shelter for Battered Women and Their Children

The following principles guide the My Sister's Place community and are the foundation upon which our programs are built:

1. We are committed to providing accessible services to battered women and their children.
   
2. We believe that the provision of services is only a band-aid solution to a problem with much greater social impact.
   
3. We are committed to assisting women to acquire the information, resources, and skills we need to move beyond violent situations and into healthy, safe, self-sufficient environments.
   
4. We believe in the empowerment of women. By this we mean we encourage self-determination and self sufficiency for all women. We are committed to helping women understand the systems and processes that affect our situations. With a heightened understanding, we hope we will be able to grow in our awareness and self determination.
   
5. We strive to share in a dynamic process that transforms us from victims into survivors. Survivors are not static victims of disease,
   syndrome, or psychological illness.
   
6. We recognize that violence in all forms is a destructive force in our society. Violence in not only a crime but a violation of basic
   human rights.
   
7. We believe that relationship violence stems from a systematic inequality in the distribution of power.
   
8. We believe violence against women is rooted in sexism. It is not only an individual survivor's problem, but fundamentally affects
   society as a whole and is, in various ways, an institutionalized form of oppression.
   
9. We must work within our communities to change attitudes and institutions that support violence against women and their children. We will encourage and support grass roots activism to create a society where feminism, womanism, equality, and peace will flourish to the good of all,
   
10. We believe in the sisterhood of women and promote unity among those who seek to end all forms of oppression. In our work, we
    strive to effect broad social change through community education, outreach, and coalition building.
    
11. We believe in the empowerment of staff and volunteers as part of our mission. By this we mean that we work with staff and
    volunteers toward personal and professional growth in our organization. We support staff and volunteer development and the
    acquisition of self management skills.