Program for July 3 2025: Peggy O’Neil, Executive Director of WISE.

Peggy O’Neil, the executive director of WISE, has been with the organization for twenty-two years.

WISE started in 1971 and has grown to include five buildings and four major programs:

WISE received 2,400 calls to its service line in 2024. The organization supported 1,335 survivors, 735 of whom were new to WISE. Facilities for crisis housing include one single-household, three-adult capacity house and a four-apartment building—both located on Bank Street. WISE personnel have made 264 presentations in area middle and high schools and Dartmouth College. The organization has more than fifty-five active volunteers.

WITC stands for Multidisciplinary Interview and Training Center. This program trains volunteers and law enforcement officers to do forensic interviews and to recruit expert witnesses. For legal services, WISE partners with New Hampshire Legal Assistance and has engaged a full-time Vermont attorney.

WISE has a $2.2 million budget—50% grants and 50% community support. It works with anyone who is a victim of domestic or sexual violence. Ten to fifteen percent of its clients are men.