To better reflect its mission of helping the victims of family and domestic violence, Women’s Transitional Care Services has changed its name to Willow Domestic Violence Center.

When the organization was established in 1976 in Lawrence, its focus was helping women who were starting to live independently for the first time, often because of divorce, according to a press release.

Since then, the focus has shifted to helping those experiencing domestic abuse. The name change is part of an effort to increase community awareness about the organization’s services for domestic violence survivors in Douglas, Franklin and southern Jefferson counties.

The new name was inspired by the strength and resilience of willow trees, whose branches are known to sprout new roots even when broken and fallen.