Casa Myrna Vazquez to buy buildings in Grove Hall

July 18, 2019 : Dorchester Reporter

Boston’s largest provider of domestic and dating-violence awareness efforts and support for survivors will soon relocate to a new space in Grove Hall. Casa Myrna Vazquez, Inc., intends to buy and renovate the historic Rubina Ann Guscott building and an adjacent building to use as its headquarters.

MassDevelopment has issued a $3,250,000 tax-exempt bond on behalf of Casa Myrna, which will use the proceeds to make the acquisition and undertake renovations.

The buildings will include space for services, a youth-managed clothing boutique or café, offices, and public meeting rooms. Cambridge Trust Company purchased the bond, which MassDevelopment enhanced with a guarantee.

“Casa Myrna offers a safe and supportive harbor, and through its outreach programs helps address and prevent incidences of domestic violence in our communities,” said MassDevelopment president and CEO Lauren Liss. “We’re proud to help the organization continue this honorable work at its new headquarters in Dorchester.”

Casa Myrna was founded in 1977 as a volunteer-run shelter in Boston’s South End for abused women and their children. It added residential and programmatic capacity over the years in response to emerging needs. Each year, Casa Myrna serves more than 2,000 survivors and answers nearly 30,000 calls by multilingual advocates at its SafeLink hotline, the Commonwealth’s statewide domestic violence hotline. Casa Myrna also works to prevent domestic and dating violence through outreach, education, and awareness programs for teens and adults.

“Grove Hall is at the epicenter of our work with survivors of domestic and dating violence, so we are thrilled to locate our new headquarters at the historic Rubina Ann Guscott building,” said Stephanie Brown, Casa Myrna CEO. “Rubina’s legacy of justice and social change will serve as daily inspiration to us. We thank MassDevelopment and Cambridge Trust for investing in Casa Myrna to make our vision a reality.”