Our mission is to provide safety and support for victims of domestic abuse while leading efforts to end domestic violence in our community.
Who We Are:
Golden House is a comprehensive domestic violence program serving victims in Brown County. As a private, non-profit founded in 1979, we respond to the needs of victims and educate our community on the prevalence, effects, and prevention of domestic abuse.
Our Services:
Our free and confidential services include:
- Safety: Safety Planning, Crisis Counseling, Restraining Orders, & More
- Support: Mental Health Therapy, Support Groups, Parent Mentoring, & More
- Housing: Emergency Shelter, Flexible Safe Home Support, & More
- Prevention Education: Healthy Relationships, Childhood Domestic Violence, & More
With integrity, we help all victims find their path to lives free of physical, emotional, and financial abuse.
Building mutual trust with victims and understanding that every story is unique and deeply personal, we believe that an individual is the best person to make decisions for their family.
Through trauma-informed practices and strength-based advocacy, we build relationships with survivors helping them find the strength they need to lead lives free of abuse.
With other community agencies, we work to build a community knowledgeable and responsive to the trauma and needs domestic abuse victims face in their healing journey.
Our History:
Golden House began as a 24-hour telephone helpline in 1979. Known as the Brown County Task Force for Battered Women, the helpline was operated entirely by volunteers who would help victims find a safe place to stay at a moment's notice.
The first shelter for women and children was created in 1981 in space rented at Our Lady of Charity.
By 1982, the agency grew to include support groups, community counseling, and children's programming and the name was changed to the Family Violence Center, Inc.
In 1984, a permanent shelter was made possible through the donation of a five-bedroom home by Thomas H. Lutsey. He was the owner and president of Gold Bond Ice Cream and the new shelter became aptly known as "Golden House."
As the program grew and services were added, the Family Violence Center outgrew Golden House and a capital campaign was conducted in 1992 with great support from Thomas Lutsey, Sr.
The a new building on University Ave was opened in 1993. It included eleven bedroom and at times houses up to forty women, men, and children.
In 2006, the agency's name was changed to Golden House, Inc., a more positive name which continues the legacy of the Lutsey family.
With a growing demand on services and emergency shelter, for over thirty years, Golden House’s facility had reached a tipping point. In 2020 with support from Tom Lutsey Jr., the ‘On the Rise’ capital campaign kicked off to build a new facility that would best meet the growing need to shelter traumatized families and children and enhance security and privacy.
In 2023 Golden House opened the doors on a new 34,000 sq ft facility that has 20 private family rooms and a capacity of 60. This new facility will help us provide over 6,000 additional nights of shelter for more than 150 victims each year.
We remain in the same location on University Avenue and continue to provide safety and support to victims of domestic abuse while leading efforts to end domestic violence in our community.
| "Because of Golden House, I am at peace. I am a much stronger person than I ever thought I could be. Thanks to all of you." - Survivor |
