You Can't Beat An Alabama Woman

About the Book

In 1978 Domestic Violence was not a recognized criminal offence nor a term used or understood by most Americans. There were no shelters or services for these victims and their children. The very first shelters were in England and little was known about them. Unscathed by this lack of information or workable data Kathryn had only to hear by accident about the Shelter movement in England when the “light bulb” went off and her mission was confirmed. Against all odds and with the threat of committing “professional suicide” she set out to do that which she had no earthly idea how to accomplish, establish a shelter for battered women and their children. With the encouragement of her women’s organization, The Daughter’s of Penelope the impossible became a reality. Penelope House opened on March 19, 1979 as the first Battered Women’s shelter in Alabama and the fifth such shelter in the United States.

About the Author

Kathryn Coumanis is a lifetime resident of Mobile, AL. After an early start in teaching, she was drawn to a career in Social Work. A Social Worker since 1963, she worked many years in State Public Welfare in Child and Adult Protective Services. Dr. Coumanis holds degrees from Springhill College (Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education), Tulane University (Master of Social Work), and The University of Alabama (Doctor of Higher Education). In 1979, she established the Penelope House Shelter for Battered Women. This was the first Domestic Violence Shelter in the State of Alabama and the fifth in the US. She served as the first president of the Board of Directors of Penelope House and later as its Executive Director until her retirement in 2008. Dr. Coumanis has been married to her husband Nick for 49 years and has two adult children and four grandchildren. This book chronicles her amazing journey into the then unknown territory of Domestic Violence.