Our History

“Freedom House is my fulfilled dream to offer safe haven to all women and their dependents. Quiet comfort from chaos, violence, fear and threats is now a reality for anyone who seeks it.”

–Nedda Simon, Founder

Creating a Safe Haven
Nedda Simon was working as a family counselor when she realized that many of the women under her care were victims of domestic violence. At that time, the nearest shelters for battered women were in Peoria, Streator, and the Quad Cities, so Nedda made it her mission to open Freedom House.

“Making sure these women had time to think and a safe place to sleep became an obsession of mine,” Nedda said. “I had no source of funding and no support, but I went to every local radio station and asked for a house to rent. I asked friends, family and colleagues to support this cause, and they did.”

On May 9, 1983, Nedda opened the Freedom House walk-in shelter at a house in Wyanet. Her first client was a mother with five children. “I always found strength in the women’s courage,” Nedda said of the clients she worked with. “It takes a lot of courage to come out into freedom.”

Since then, Freedom House has grown exponentially, assisting more than 30,000 clients in the past 40+ years. Freedom House now serves five counties—Bureau, Henry, Marshall, Putnam, and Stark—and has offices in Princeton, Kewanee, Geneseo, Lacon, and Cambridge. Freedom House offers free services to clients through comprehensive domestic and sexual violence programs. The shelter and 24-hour crisis hotline are available 365 days a year. As Freedom House continues to grow, plans are underway to open a Kewanee shelter to better serve residents of Henry and Stark counties.

In 2018, Nedda said, “I never had any idea that what I was doing 35 years ago would turn into what it has. I just knew people needed our help.” Nedda passed away on Oct. 1, 2024.