T-Mobile employee noticed domestic violence affecting her coworkers, so she decided to act (2024)

After some employees experienced domestic violence, the leadership of the T-Mobile customer service center in Charleston reached out to My Sister's House for training for its managers. The center in turn became a key resource and supporter for the nonprofit helping survivors of abuse.

T-Mobile also provided one of its biggest advocates.

Tanisha Simmons won the 2024 Voice of the Year Award from My Sister's House, the group announced May 14. It also honored several companies that have become key supporters and partners in not only funding its work but spreading awareness about domestic violence in the community.

The award is a little ironic in Simmons' case because she did not call attention to herself as she dug in and worked tirelessly to help, said My Sister's CEO Tosha Connors.

"She was just doing the work," Connors said. "And she has continued to do the work."

At the event, My Sister's House announced it raised more than $361,000 from its gala in April, money that will help give the group greater flexibility to provide services for survivors, such as clinical therapy, transitional housing and rental assistance in addition to emergency sheltering, Connors said.

T-Mobile was one of the companies honored at the event as a mission sponsor that helped raise the money. Fidelity Investments in Charleston also decided to get involved after learning more about what the group does, including the training, said branch leader Stephanie Eikenberry.

"The impact this organization makes is nothing short of impressive," she said about My Sister's House.

Brian Miller, founder and CEO of Atlas Tech, said his company has been involved with the group for more than 20 years and has now pledged to be a partner going forward.

"It's unfortunately a needed cause," he said. "Hopefully, we can work on preventing that."

The statistics from a local survey the group did last year bear that out. Nearly 60 percent of adults in the Lowcountry have experienced one form or another of domestic violence, including verbal, psychological, physical and financial abuse. But 68 percent never sought professional help, and 46 percent said they kept it a secret because they were ashamed.

T-Mobile was already aware of incidents among its employees and reached out to My Sister's House for training because "we knew it was something that resonated with us," Simmons said. What followed was not only training, but a panel discussion featuring survivors, which encouraged others to share their stories and seek resources she said.

Part of what T-Mobile wanted was for its employees to speak up, said Irene Page, director of the Charleston center, which employs about 850 people. It was important "because we have so many survivors and also many people impacted by domestic violence," she said. "We wanted to support them, provide resources, but also provide others with ways to be involved or to even open a conversation about it — to help people understand there is no shame, and we are here to help."

The T-Mobile center has collected so many donations for the group, more than its current storage could handle, that the center has started its own storage room it has dubbed My Sister's Closet, Simmons said.

"We have a space there so when they need to replenish what they don't have (at the headquarters), they can just come there and get it," she said.

Simmons didn't know she was up for the award and was "100 percent shocked" to be named. But not Octavia Smith-Hamilton, a senior manager at her center.

"She's a lady of action," Smith-Hamilton said.