Two hundred and fifty dollars went a long way in 1974. That is what it cost the late Kip Tiernan to make history when she opened Rosie's Place, the first shelter for homeless women in the United States, at 357 Columbus Avenue on Easter Sunday of 1974. Since then, Rosie's Place, now located at 889 Harrison Avenue, has grown from providing a bed and meals to offering a wholistic approach to helping women rebuild their lives. The organization refers to the women it serves as guests, a hallmark of its welcoming and respectful approach. The celebration of the milestone anniversary begins with an all-day celebration for guests on Easter Sunday featuring food, entertainment and birthday cake, and will continue throughout the year. Readers of the April 20 Boston Sunday Globe will be able to read an excerpt from Through a Door, a book compiled for the occasion edited by Concord-based writer Alice Hoffman and featuring 40-word pieces by 40 local women writers on moments that changed their lives. South Enders Sue Miller and Barbara Shapiro contributed to the book, which will be posted on the Rosie's Place web site and distributed in hard copy at upcoming benefit events.

Public events in the coming months include the May 6 Safe and Sound Gala, which will take place at WGBH's studios in Brighton from 6:00-10:00 PM. The event will offer fine local cuisine and wine, a silent auction and a copy of Through a Door. A benefit luncheon is also being planned for October 28.

As the organization approaches its birthday, Rosie's Place provides emergency shelter and meals, health and wellness care, educational and skill-building programs, job- and housing-search assistance, and follow-up for guests who are adjusting to a new life and home. Rosie's Place houses approximately 300 guests per year in temporary housing, which accommodates 20 women for up to 21 days. The Women's Education Center has about 300 students in its English as a Second or Other Language (ESOL), Literacy and pre-GED programs in addition to providing tuition assistance for college study. The food program serves about 80,000 meals per year, encompassing breakfast on weekdays and lunch and dinner daily for women and their children. A food pantry provides free food to about 2,000 women per month, each of whom receives 20 to 40 pounds of fresh produce and other healthy choices. The Women's Craft Cooperative employs nine women part-time who make jewelry and gift items sold on the organization's web site as well as through retail and other on-line outlets.

While fostering independence in women, Rosie's Place maintains its own independence by avoiding government funding. Executive Director Sue Marsh explained, "I think the real reason we've always declined government money is because we get to do what we think is important and we remain independent." Marsh added, "We've remained faithful to the essential principles of Rosie's Place: self-reliance, unconditional love, offering an array of services, and being able to welcome and work with the neediest women in Boston in the ways they feel are important. We come from the perspective that we'll meet you where you re at and help you with your journey, and it's guest-led." Marsh, who was Executive Director of the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless before joining Rosie's Place in 1998, has made a happy adjustment from being involved primarily in advocacy to leading a direct-service organization such as Rosie's. Marsh observed, "Being able to focus on larger issues of justice while also being able to help women with daily, concrete needs is just a blessing."

The fruit of Rosie's Place's labors is embodied in the success of Anaivis Hernandez, a former guest who now works at Rosie's Place as Front Desk Coordinator and takes classes at Bunker Hill Community College. Mayor Martin Walsh recently presented Hernandez with LIFT-Boston's Commitment Award for her achievement in improving life for herself and her daughter.

As a volunteer for 25 years, Sheila Aliber, 85, has had an active role in most of Rosie's Place's history. Laid-back yet energetic, Aliber is a vital, colorful personality with an appearance to match. As the creator of the Childworks, a program that offered creative and recreational activities for kids from 1997 until this year, Aliber has helped shape the services Rosie's offers, even securing outside funding for the activities she initiated. At an interview at Rosie's Place's Thorndike Street location, Aliber arrived with a tote bag full of memorabilia, including a Rosie's Place cookbook, mementos of awards she won for her volunteer work at Rosie's Place, and a video of a long-ago segment on Rosie's Place by the late Charles Kuralt. She pulled from her treasures a photo of her grandchildren and said, "This is my motivation, to be a good example for them." Aliber continued, "I want to help people feel better about themselves because life has been good to me." One of Aliber's many fond memories in her long run at Rosie's is the time she organized a wedding for a guest at Rosie's Place's center for women with HIV on Mt. Vernon Street in Dorchester. Aliber recalled, "A young woman met a man at the clinic. They both had HIV and they wanted to get married. The weather turned out to be so beautiful. The man died soon after. A caterer donated a whole luncheon, the doctor sang at the wedding, and my mail lady donated something traditionally used in the ceremony. (Rosie's Place Food Program Manager) Ruthie McDonough helped decorate the porch at Mt. Vernon Street. It was the most amazing experience of my life." Aliber's service, which also includes organizing meals at Rosie's and outings for guests and their children, has netted her awards from the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation, Bank of America's Charitable Foundation and the Boston Parents Paper. Her prizes in turn benefited Rosie's Place, as the monetary prizes were donated directly to the organization. In her acceptance speech for the New England Patriots award, Aliber reflected eloquently on the South End institution. "Rosie's Place is the embodiment of true sisterhood. Kip Tiernan, its inspired, visionary founder, understood this fully."