open to any woman in need, a 50-bed interim housing (shelter) program for women who are currently homeless, and permanent supportive housing for women who have a disabling condition and have been chronically homeless. Across programs Sarah's Circle staff use best practices and provide case management and supportive counseling to help women achieve their goals. In the late 1970s, homelessness among women was a relatively new phenomenon. The need to reach out to this segment of the population was not obvious, not even to the women who would found Sarah's Circle. While volunteering for what became known as Harper House, three friends—Jeanette Hupp, Janet Sullivan and Maxine Florell—decided they wanted to do something for the women of Uptown. In January 1979, the group began operating a women's center in a second-floor apartment at 4455 North Broadway. Staffed by the planners and other volunteers, the center was open from mid-afternoon to 9 p.m. During the first six months, there were fewer than ten women who visited the center regularly. Some of them were homeless; some appeared to be mentally ill. That winter was a bitter one, prompting the volunteers to sometimes invite the women into their homes rather than have them spend the night outside in the cold.