What began as playing Santa Claus for needy children at Christmas for disadvantaged children would drastically change the life of one woman and lead her to become a temporary mother to thousands of children.
Jean Tulli moved to the South Carolina upstate in the 1970's and began sponsoring underprivileged children each Christmas through the Oconee Department of Social service. A little later, she was approached by the Department of Social Services to open an emergency shelter for abused and neglected children. First, in 1978, Jean, and co-founder Elaine Chisman, established the Helping Hands of Clemson organization. Six years later, in August 1984, the shelter opened it's doors to receive the first children. At that time the House was licensed to care for 16 children, today the House is licensed to care for 54 children. On average, we care for 40 to 45 children at a time and, to date, with have cared for an estimated 10,000 children since opening our doors.
Today, Helping Hands of Clemson, Inc. is an emergency shelter and foster home for abused and neglected children in Upstate South Carolina and we accept boys and girls, of all ethnic backgrounds, from birth to age twelve. Our children come to us through DSS placements and we have become one of the state's largest emergency shelters. The majority of our children come from Anderson, Greenville, Oconee, and Pickens counties, but we are also licensed to serve children from Abbeville, Edgefield, Greenwood, Laurens, McCormick, Newberry, and Saluda counties. All the children placed with us have been removed from their homes due to one or more factors involving neglect, sexual abuse, physical abuse, and/or emotional abuse. The children stay with us until DSS can place them in a safe place, for example; other relatives, foster care families, or group homes. In mild cases of abuse and neglect, the children are sometimes allowed to return to their own homes.
We are dedicated to providing all mistreated children, from birth to age twelve, with a safe and loving environment that meets all their immediate needs for survival.