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To the Editor:
The Forgach House Domestic Crisis Shelter was 25 years old this August. Why is there an attempt to change the name?
It is said that Catholic Community Services is trying to change the name. Perhaps the agency does not understand how “the shelter” known as the Forgach House Domestic Crisis Shelter came about.
When “the shelter” first opened its door in August 1983, it had no name other than Domestic Violence Shelter.
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The first residents that came to a singlewide shelter resented the word “violence” in the title, therefore Domestic Crisis Shelter.
Paul Forgach, who was involved with victim’s rights nationally, came to Sierra Vista to train about 40 people from Bisbee, Douglas and our community. The first training was the summer of 1983. He did two more trainings for the staff of the shelter. Paul Forgach died in April 1985. It was at that time the name Forgach House Domestic Crisis Shelter came about.
Is this an attempt to discount all of the people that gave of their time and energy to make Forgach what it is today? Some of the original advisory board people, such as retired Judge Jim Riley, Sharon Lake, Joyce Warren, Dottie Bianco, Helen Vance, Kathleen Heard, Virginia Gannon, Beena Troupe, the folks from Douglas Legal Aid, such as Connie Hoyos, Sister Susan Kolb, CSA and the many volunteers too numerous to mention have been discounted.
The staff, housemothers who worked very hard for minimum wage and no benefits, the case managers who were on call 24-7 and would come to the shelter in the middle of the night to ease a victim and her children’s fears seem to be discredited. Is the hard work by Mitzi and George Kirmse in producing the “Forgach House” Variety Show being queried? Have the original endeavors by Patrick Palmer to get the see money from Catholic Social Services and the dedication of Frank McDonough working with city government members, county SEAGO people to get the Community Development Block Grant money that helped to build a new third shelter building gone for naught? The site where this building stood was two acres of land donated by St. Andrew the Apostle Catholic Church.
Finally, the Knights of Columbus donated the land where the present new domestic violence shelter building exists.
Where has this idea to change the name come from?
Let us not forget Paul Forgach by dropping the title Forgach House Domestic Violence Shelter.
Tonianne Goebel
Retired Forgach House director
Sierra Vista
EDITOR’S NOTE: According to Chuck Fischer with Catholic Community Services, which runs the shelter, the official name of the shelter is currently Sierra Vista Shelter.
To Life-Long SV Resident wrote on Dec 9, 2008 5:09 PM:
Riiiiight. That's why they've changed the name to the blatantly religious "Sierra Vista Shelter."
The shelter is non-denominational. Nobody pushes *any* religion there.
No offense to Paul Forgach, he was unquestionably a fine man, but the shelter developed a very bad reputation while it carried this name. Let the shelter's fresh start come with a fresh name. Don't denigrate a place and people that do nothing but good work. "