In 1977, Live Violence Free was founded as the South Lake Tahoe Women’s Center by a handful of dedicated volunteers who established a rape crisis hotline in response to an increasing incidence of sexual assault within the community. By 1980, the Sexual Assault Program was in full operation and to this day, continues to provide outreach and education to the community, as well as comprehensive direct services for adults and children. In 1981, the agency added the Domestic Violence Program to offer community education and direct services, including emergency food and shelter for victims of domestic violence and their children.

By 1986, the agency had begun providing age-appropriate child abuse prevention education to grades K-12. Over the years, our programs have evolved to include comprehensive services for survivors of violence. In 1999, services were expanded to Alpine County, bringing our services to multiple communities. Our safe exchange and supervised visitation program, Parent to Parent, became available in 2009 at the South Lake Tahoe office.

In 2011, the agency felt the time was right for a new name and logo that better reflects the mission and vision of our organization, thus Live Violence Free was launched. While our name and logo has changed, our programs and services remain the same, and even more importantly, our dedication to survivors of violence is stronger than ever.