History
The Marjaree Mason Center was founded in 1979 by the YWCA-Fresno after the kidnapping, rape, and murder of Marjaree Mason. A victim of domestic violence, Mason was killed by her ex-boyfriend, a Fresno County Sheriff’s Deputy.
The center started with a group of volunteers staffing an emergency hotline for victims of domestic violence, while a few rooms at the YWCA Residence Hall became specifically designated for women and their children fleeing from domestic violence. Over time, the services of the YWCA-Fresno increasingly focused on domestic violence and gradually discontinued most other programs until the organization focused almost exclusively on domestic violence.
In 1998, the YWCA-Fresno Board of Directors voted to end a 94-year affiliation with the National YWCA, and the Marjaree Mason Center became a stand-alone domestic violence agency.
Still headquartered in Fresno’s historic Einstein Home, the home of the YWCA’s old administrative offices, the center operates a variety of services from several locations in Fresno County.
Read more about this topic: Marjaree Mason Center
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