Our History

In 1983, domestic violence services started in York County with the opening of a Salvation Army shelter called Sister Help. As the second domestic violence shelter in South Carolina, it offered a 24-hour hotline, crisis counseling, emergency shelter for victims and their children in York, Chester, and Lancaster counties.   

Later, Sister Help separated from the Salvation Army and in 1992 became Tri-County Sister Help, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. In 1999 the organization was renamed Safe Passage Inc.: A Domestic Peace Program (officially approved January 22, 2001). The new name underscored the agency's focus on domestic violence survivors' passages to lives of independence and safety.  A new shelter opened in September 2001.    

Safe Passage has expanded its services twice over the years – it took over the Sexual Assault Resources Center in 2005 to offer services to victims of sexual trauma and child abuse, and in 2014 the Child Advocacy Center (CAC) was added. The CAC is nationally accredited and received reaccreditation in 2021.   

In 2022 Safe Passage again expanded its services through the addition of a Rapid Rehousing program.  This program offers assistance to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault to help secure safe, appropriate housing. All four branches are housed in the Oakland Avenue administrative building in Rock Hill. Safe Passage Inc., which celebrated its 30-year anniversary in 2022, remains a local haven for survivors of domestic violence, sexual trauma, and child abuse.