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Over 20 years ago a homeless woman named Ann Splaine moved into a vacant house on M Street in North West Washington DC. The house was in shambles and barely stood on its own but Ms. Splaine had nowhere else to go. She began to fix the house up and then invited a number of other homeless women to live with her. These women were the beginning of Hannah House. After the women appealed to the Sisters of Mercy for financial help, two Sisters took interest in the project and, almost a year later, Hannah House became a full-fledged overnight shelter for women.

After a long period of acting as a 24-hour emergency shelter, Hannah House expanded its field of service and created the HERS Program for single women. This program was born around the idea of providing long-term care to women focusing on rehabilitation, education, housing, and independence. Several years later, the THEIRS Program began as a family-oriented program devoted to reuniting mothers with their children. These two programs and the people enrolled in them serve as the heart and soul of Hannah House today.