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Agency History

In 1897 a Charleston citizen named Claudia Tharin came across a newspaper article about the suicide attempt of a young, unmarried pregnant woman who had come to Charleston to give birth. Ms. Tharin was so touched by this young woman's story that she, along with a group of Charleston women, established the "Christ Love Mission," a network of altruistic volunteers who provided support and limited residential care in their own homes to single pregnant women and mothers in need. This revolutionary new movement was soon supported by Kate Waller Barrett, MD, one of the first female pediatricians in the United States. Dr. Barrett had been able to interest a New York philanthropist named Charles Crittenton in financing a similar program in New York, which honored the memory of his daughter Florence, who had died at the age of four.

In 1899, Charles Crittenton visited the Charleston program's small office on 10 Washington Street and made a financial contribution, and the agency name was changed to "The Florence Crittenton Home and Hospital." Parents, social agencies, physicians, clergymen, and school personnel referred young women in need to the agency. Families paid what they could, and a network of dedicated volunteers kept the agency in operation. In 1923 the agency was incorporated as a non-profit organization, with Mrs. H. Jermain Slocum as its first president. Charles Crittenton's continued financial support led to the development of a residential home, which began construction in 1927. The first client was admitted to the present Charleston facility at 19 Saint Margaret Street in 1932. Since that time, the Florence Crittenton residential facility for single pregnant women has been in operation, and continues to be the only agency of its kind in South Carolina.

During these early years, the residential facility was managed under the personal guidance of Claudia Tharin and the Board of Directors, who directly supervised the day-to-day operations. Representatives of various women's clubs interested in the continuing welfare of The Florence Crittenton Home and Hospital formed the Florence Crittenton Auxiliary in 1954, which is still in existence today. Mrs. Julian Johns was a founding member of this group, as well as a member of the Board of Directors, before she became the fifth Executive Director of the agency in 1960, serving in that capacity until 1976.

Until the early 1950s, private physicians donating their services delivered the infants at the residential facility. Dr. Henry W. deSaussure served as the principal obstetrician, and Dr. Joseph I. Waring coordinated the services of private pediatricians who cared for the infants on a volunteer basis. Infants were then delivered at Roper Hospital for two years until the Medical University of South Carolina assumed this responsibility in 1954 under the leadership of Dr. Lawrence L. Hester, Jr., Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

A free-standing chapel was built next to the residential facility in 1954, providing a place for religious services, discussion groups, Bible study, and meditation, as well as ceremonies such as weddings, baptisms, and funerals. In 1990, following Hurricane Hugo, the chapel was renovated and re-dedicated, and was then opened to the entire community, as it still is today.

Since 1958 South Carolina United Way agencies and other state agencies have provided funding to Florence Crittenton Programs. The South Carolina General Assembly has also contributed funds over the years, due to the initial efforts of Mr. J.C. Long, husband of Mrs. Alberta Sottile Long, one of the charter members of the Board of Directors. Mrs. Long was instrumental in establishing the accredited school program in 1959. She had one of the sun porches converted to a schoolroom, which she dedicated to her mother, Mrs. Mary Ellen Sottile.

As a result of the changing needs of the client population, a study was conducted in 1975 under the leadership of the United Way of South Carolina. Because of the rise in teen pregnancies, a program of professional services was established in 1976, under the direction of Mary Green, a professional Social Worker with experience working with adolescents and their families in crisis, including three years at the Florence Crittenton Home in Washington, DC.

In 1984, in response to the increasing number of inquiries for educational services without residential care (chiefly because school dropouts as a result of pregnancy were escalating in Charleston County), the agency began investigating the possibility of developing a daytime school program. The South Carolina General Assembly gave the agency $20,000 to initiate this effort, and the program began operation at 701 East Bay Street in 1986, with initial grants from the Federal Office of Adolescent Pregnancy Programs and the South Carolina Office of Vocational Education. In 1986 the name of the agency was legally changed from "The Florence Crittenton Home" to "Florence Crittenton Programs of South Carolina" in order to reflect this expansion of services. In 1985 Florence Crittenton Programs was accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Services to Families and Children.

In 1993 the agency began to look seriously at the need for a transitional living program for parents and infants who lacked family and support. The Family Development Program was established in 1997, with eight subsidized apartments for parents and children. In 1999 the program expanded to a Nunan Street site, adding two more apartments to make a total of 10. To this day, the Family Development Program continues to provide housing assistance, as well as supportive services to single parents and their children.

In 1997 the National Registry of Historical Places recognized the Florence Crittenton residential facility as a historical landmark. In 2006 an In-House Medical Clinic was initiated in collaboration with the Medical University of South Carolina in order to provide holistic pre-natal care on-site for clients, as it was in the early years of the agency. In 2009, The Council on Accreditation re-accredited the agency through 2013. Re-accreditation is a tremendous achievement that demonstrates successful implementation of high performance standards, and the delivery of the highest quality services.

From its inception, Florence Crittenton Programs of SC has been concerned with the future of single parents and their children. Throughout an astonishing 113-year history, these programs and services have been designed to provide care, counseling, and education in order to directly impact the complex social issue of teen pregnancy. Florence Crittenton Programs of SC continues to build strong families, healthy teens, and self-sufficient young adults through education, counseling, medical care, and social support, and by providing a safe haven for clients in need. From its humble beginnings, the ongoing vision of the agency has always been to provide hope, safety, and opportunity so that every child and family served gains a sense of self-worth and the capacity to achieve the fullest potential possible.