Our Timeline
1977
A small group of individuals recognized the need for our community to offer support to battered women and their children. They started taking turns answering a crisis hotline that was forwarded to their homes. Some made room in their own homes for the women that had no place else to turn. It soon was realized that the need was greater than anyone imagined. In November, The Women’s Shelter of the Corpus Christi Area, Inc. became incorporated.
1978
With grants from the City of Corpus Christi, Nueces County and several area foundations a building was purchased and renovated, opening to shelter battered women and their children on January 16, 1978. As the third battered women’s shelter to open in the state of Texas the agency went on to provide safety and support to hundreds of victims over the next several years.
1982
The agency began providing direct services to children residing in the shelter facility.
1983
The Support Center, intended to provide individual and group counseling to nonresidential victims of violence, was established
1986
Victims of Crime Act funding was received to reach out into the eleven outlying counties of the agency’s service area. Two part-time advocates provided peer counseling, information and referral, advocacy, and community education to victims residing in these areas.
1993
In October we added the Sexual Assault Intervention Program, serving adult victims of sexual assault. A building campaign also started, with the goal of designing and building a facility specifically intended to shelter up to 65 people – whereas the previous shelter could only house up to 25.
1994
The new facility opened with a capacity of housing up to sixty-five women and children.
1999
With a generous gift from Ed and Janet Harte, the Harte Building at 813 Buford St. was opened in August. The completion of a capital addition by Ed and Janet Harte happened in November, as well, which was a recreation room in the shelter facility intended for use by teenagers.
2000
The agency focused on expanding outreach services into the rural areas, with the establishment of offices in Alice, Beeville, Kingsville and Sinton.
2006
The word “prevention” would become our hope and our focus. Since then the goal of prevention has become interwoven in everything we do. It has taken us from a grass roots effort to keep victims safe to a movement to end violence in our communities once and for all.
2018
The Women’s Shelter of South Texas celebrated its 40th anniversary and unveiled our new name The Purple Door.
Board and Staff
Lisa Kennedy, Chair
Plains Capital Bank
Sharon Sedwick, Vice Chair
A Different Idea, Inc.
Irene Castillo-Moreno, Secretary
Laren Albrecht
Collier Johnson & Woods
Anna Aldridge
Hanson Professional Services
Christina Gomez
AEP Texas
Riley Langston
Prosperity Bank
Emily Martinez
Coastal Bend Council of City Governments
Jennifer Ramon
HEB
LuAnn Rios
Carr, Riggs & Ingram
Mark Schauer
Corpus Christi Police Department
Linda Walker
GCGV, Exxon Mobile
Dr. Kristina Ramirez Wilson
Texas A&M University-Kingsville
Newman Wong
Del Mar College
Frances Wilson
The Purple Door President and CEO
Key Personnel
Kellie Addison
Deputy Director
Maribel Arredondo
Sexual Assault Services Manager
Tanya Herrera
Residential Services Manager
Vickie Hibbs
Business and Finance Director
Shelbie Lashua Ledesma
Engagement Manager
Brian Keith Permenter, MA, LPC
Counseling Manager
Jennifer Radcliffe-Jones
Non-Residential Services Manager
Diann Rodriguez
Human Resource Manager
Frances Wilson
President and CEO
