The discussion briefly summarizes the dilemmas of the battered wife phenomenon and the need for community action. It then recounts the events leading up to the development of local services for victims of domestic assault. Public concern was first raised by a 1-day awareness workshop, which resulted in the establishment of the Austin Coalition for Battered Women. The group was able to obtain funding from two local foundations and proceeded to make arrangements for providing refuge, counseling, and other program services. The discussion emphasizes that the crucial objectives are to meet immediate shelter needs of women assaulted by their spouses and to enable them to find positive alternatives for developing personal resources to break the cycle of dependency, thus empowering battered wives with low self-esteem to take charge of their own lives. The shelter program also focuses on community awareness at two levels -- direct service coordination and involvement of community and social service agencies in liaison and a referral network. During the first 45 days of operation, 26 women and 29 children received direct services at the shelter and 76 women used the center's hotline counseling services.