My Sister’s House

Brief Organizational History

  • June 2000 – Began public campaign to establish My Sister’s House as Sacramento’s first agency to address battering in the Asian and Pacific Islander community, and plans to develop a cultural appropriate save haven
  • December 2000 – Incorporated
  • January 2001 – Became a nonprofit 501(c)(3) community service organization
  • September 2001 – Inaugural 12-member Board of Directors and 11-member Advisory Committee installed
  • March 2002 – Received major grant for $150,00 from the California Employment Development Department to implement My Sister’s House “Women at Work Program”, which operates out of the Broadway One Stop Career Center
  • April 22, 2003 – Opened Sacramento’s first 6-bed safe haven for battered Asian and Pacific Islander women and children
  • May 2003 – Received a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration for Small Grassroots Organizations to fund the Women at Work Immigrant Domestic Violence Advocacy Project, to help battered immigrant women
  • October 2003 – Held its first Domestic Violence Training Institute. The Institute gave participants an opportunity to exchange information and learn about violence against women in the immigrant and refugee communities
  • November 2003 – Held our first annual Run For A Safe Haven at William Land Park. This 5K fun run drew over 1,200 adults and children who competed individually and in over 70 teams.
  • September 2004 – Hosted our first “Yes I Can” Conference for domestic violence victims
  • March 2005 – Produced an organizational video to educate the community about domestic violence and the services provided by My Sister’s House
  • November 2005 – Held its first dinner thanking our many friends and supporters that have helped to make the organization a success
  • January 2006 – Began operating a multi-lingual telephone Help Line that is available 24-hours a day to assist victims of domestic violence
  • April 2006 – Launched our “No Excuse For Abuse” project, which involves printing information about My Sister’s House on shopping bags in Chinese, Hmong, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. The bags are then distributed to various Asian grocery stores in the Sacramento area
  • June 2006 – The Sacramento Housing Alliance selected My Sister’s House as a recipient of its distinguished advocacy award for the work we have done addressing the issue of domestic violence in Sacramento’s Asian and Pacific Islander community
  • June 2007 – My Sister’s House was awarded with the Uplifting Human Values Awards
  • June 2007 – My Sister’s House was awarded with the Phillippine Fiesta Community Best Award
  • June 2008 – My Sister’s House was awarded with the Soroptimists of South Sacramento Award
  • June 2008 – My Sister’s House was awarded with the Asian Bar Association of Sacramento Community Service Award
  • May 2009 – My Sister’s House was awarded a grant to coordinate and implement anti-human trafficking outreach and education in the Sacramento region
  • June 2009 – My Sister’s House was awarded with the Future 5 Award (Outstanding Non-profit Sacramento Asian Chamber of Commerce)
  • June 2009 – My Sister’s House was awarded with a national Top Food and Shelter Award
  • June 2010 – Selected as one of the 46 sites nationally to provide culturally specific domestic violence services
  • June 2011 – My Sister’s House’s Executive Director, Nilda Valmores, was awarded with the Congressional victims’ Rights Caucus Allied Professional Award in Washington, D.C.
  • May 2011 – Celebrated its 10th Annual GALA at the Crest Theater
  • 2012 – Began training neighboring domestic violence organizations on cultural responsiveness
  • 2013 – Opened its second shelter – a transitional housing program
  • 2014 – My Sister’s Cafe launches as part of our job training program
  • 2015 – Moved to new office
  • 2016 – Hired its first full-time counselor and starts Spanish-speaking support group
  • July 2016 – Opened Anti-Trafficking House helping human trafficking victims
  • 2017 – Launched sexual assault work in Yolo County, and begins statewide trainings to train other victim service providers on cultural responsiveness
  • 2018 – Begins Housing First program to assist survivors in finding stable housing

Other Significant Achievements:

  • Held MSH’s first Domestic Violence Training Institute in October, 2003 to facilitate an exchange of information related to domestic violence and violence against women in immigrant and refugee communities
  • First MSH Annual 5K Fun Run held at William Land Park on November 1, 2003 drew over 1,200 adults, teens, kids (and babies in strollers!) who competed individually and in over 70 teams
  • As of January 2004, successfully raised over $200,000 through donations from individuals, families, community organizations, churches, and foundations, matched, dollar for dollar by out Challenge Grant with The California Endowment