In January 1978, the Santa Clara County Commission on the Status of Women responded to the issue of domestic abuse and violence by obtaining a small grant to create an "assessment and program development" project in the communities of Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Los Altos, Palo Alto and Stanford. When an article about the project appeared that month in the Palo Alto Times, the one-person, half-time project staff was inundated with calls from battered women in need of services and from social service workers needing to refer their clients who had experienced domestic violence.

In July 1978, the project joined a community-based agency — the Stanford Mid-Peninsula Urban Coalition — and was christened the Mid-Peninsula Support Network. By October of that year, in response to obvious and overwhelming community need, the staff had increased from one to five. Support funding had been obtained from foundations, businesses, cities and others. Peer counseling and a network of safe homes were developed to provide emotional support and immediate temporary housing for battered women and their children. A community education program was also implemented.

The Mid-Peninsula Support Network was incorporated as a non-profit, tax-exempt organization in May 1979, and began operating independently in January 1980. In only its second year of operation, staff reportedly anticipated providing services to 90 families through its residential program, 400 individuals through its non-residential programs, and 5,000 more through community education — all on a budget of $200,000. In 1982, the phrase "for Battered Women" was added to the agency's title in order to publicly inform and clarify the organization's purpose. Over the next 11 years, the Support Network expanded services to meet community needs, including legal assistance, clinical counseling, residential facility and services, children's program, increased training and opportunities for volunteers. By 1990, the agency's six comprehensive and interrelated programs served more than 7,000 women and children annually. The agency was serving clients from all over Santa Clara County (and not just in the Stanford-to-Sunnyvale corridor), so the phrase "Mid-Peninsula" was dropped from the agency's name in 1993.

Today, Support Network for Battered Women (SNBW) is well known as a vital link in Santa Clara County's social service continuum. Over the years, the Support Network has provided crucial leadership and advocacy in the community on the issues of domestic violence. The Support Network plays an important role in the training of professionals, including law enforcement, social services, health care and clergy. In 1998, the Support Network lead a training for all staff at Santa Clara County Social Services Agency.

Many Support Network staff, volunteers and board members are active in the Santa Clara County Domestic Violence Council. The Support Network plays important roles in statewide coalitions, such as the California Alliance Against Domestic Violence, and has been active in making the legal system in California more responsive to the needs of battered women. Support Network staff have been active in seeking clemency for battered women incarcerated for killing their abusers. In 1996, a Support Network staff member submitted an amicus brief to the California Supreme Court in the People vs. Humphrey. The court decision allowed domestic violence expert witnesses to be used in decisions regarding battered women's self-defense.