What We Do
Holly's House is a child and adult advocacy center for victims of intimate crimes. It is a safe location where adult and child victims of intimate violence are interviewed. A multi-disciplinary team including the Prosecutor's Office, Police Department, County Sheriff's Office, and the Department of Child Services work together to provide protection and justice. Advocates from Albion Fellows Bacon Center or a ccounselor from the Lampion Center are also available to provide support for the victims and their families.
Holly's House partners with organizations and agencies that support the victims of intimate crimes we also serve...
Holly's House History
After a two year search, Holly's House finally found a home in the former North Park Branch Library building. A very big thank you to Marcia Au and the Evansville-Vanderburgh Public Library Board!
Holly's House opened its doors to begin assisting victims of intimate crimes on September 2, 2008, after more than four years of development. To date, we have assisted more than 300 child and adult victims in our community. Thank you for your support of Holly's House, which had made it possible.
Holly Dunn Pendleton, Co-Founder
The Evansville Police Department chose the name Holly’s House™ for the Child and Adult Advocacy Center in honor of the work Holly Dunn Pendleton has done in educating our community on how to assist victims of sexual violence, as well as her personal efforts to reach out and help victims of sexual assault.
An Evansville native, she is the only known survivor of the Railroad Serial Killer. Holly has used her traumatic experience to help others heal from, or hopefully avoid, similar situations. She lives as a survivor, not a victim. Holly speaks at schools, women’s events, before judicial panels, and has provided training sessions for the entire Evansville Police Department. Holly was the recipient of the 2006 Jefferson Award for Community Service, sponsored by the Evansville Courier and Press; and one of five honorees of the 2006 Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Award for Greatest Public Service Benefiting a Community. She also serves on the Evansville-Vanderburgh County Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence.
For more information on Holly and her work, visit her web-site at www.hollykdunn.com!
Detective Brian Turpin, Co-Founder
Detective Brian Turpin is a Co-Founder of Holly’s House and served as one of the initial presidents of the Holly’s House Board of Directors. He has been an employee of the Evansville Police Department since 1996 and had been working with the sexual violence unit since 2003.
Detective Turpin was one of the leading forces behind the development of Holly’s House™. He came up with the original idea of an advocacy center in Evansville after graduating from Finding Words Indiana Training. Finding Words is a program that provided child abuse professionals with a comprehensive introduction to a forensic interview process that improves their ability to effectively and reliably interview children about sexual abuse. After attending this program, Detective Turpin began working on the development of what would one day become Holly’s House.
Through his work and countless hours of volunteered time as well as the generosity of many people, Holly’s House became a reality in September of 2008. Since that time Holly’s House has served approximately 300 clients and their families. As Holly’s House looks towards the future, the advocacy center hopes to serve the Evansville community in a way that positively impacts the lives of many people.
