HISTORY
1973: The Women's Center was established.
1985: Moved to 1310 South Front St. in Marquette.
1992: Gained national recognition for refusing to turn over the confidencial file of a rape victim.
1998: Celebrated 25 years, marking it as the oldest Women's Center in Michigan.
2006: Harbor House was moved from a confidential location to a public one.
1973: The Women’s Center was established in 1973 as a Department in the Division of Continuing Education of Northern Michigan University in response to a unanimous resolution by 150 women in the Upper Peninsula calling for the university to do so.
1980: St. Paul’s Episcopal Church came forward and offered much needed space in their Guild Hall basement for offices and classrooms, and against all odds, the Women’s Center continued to provide programming without interruption. The overwhelming task facing dedicated volunteers and staff was to develop financial viability for the Center. Difficult times for several months lead to the establishment of a weekly bingo game that gave the Center its first on-going financial support.
1982: Under contract with the Michigan Department of Public Health, the Center expanded its program on rape prevention and intervention that now included public awareness, common sense self defense training and training for crisis line responders and support team members. Training for police and other professionals in the area of sexual assault was developed and conducted in cooperation with NMU’s Criminal Justice Training Center and hospitals in the County.
1985: After a lengthy search, arrangements were made with Jim Wittock to lease one-half of the front portion of his building located at 1310 South Front Street in Marquette. Women’s Center staff organized volunteers, including the Electrician’s Union, to move its offices to that address in September.
1990: The Women’s Center offered the following program areas—Sexual Assault Response, Domestic Violence Response, and support for survivors, and Displaced Homemaker services, as well as, the Program Support unit that is responsible for facilities management, clerical, and office support.
1992: The Women’s Center had a rape victim’s counseling file subpoenaed. The Center refused to turn over the file for confidentiality reasons. The Center received national recognition for this stand. The refusal went all the way to the State Supreme Court.
1993: The Women’s Center expanded its services into Alger County.
1995: The Women’s Center, selected as one of five sites in the state to participate in a collaboration effort between the Michigan Family Independence Agency Domestic Violence Prevention and Treatment Boards and their Families First Program. The collaboration resulted in the formation of a Families First Program that worked solely with victims of domestic violence.
1996: Two satellite offices opened to provide outreach services, one in Ishpeming, and one in Munising. These offices funded by STOP money and community donations. The Women’s Center, through a grant from the Community Health Department, purchased the rights to the TEEN Pep Program from Toledo Children’s Hospital and offered the dating violence program to middle and high schools in Marquette County.
1998: Was a year of celebration for the Women’s Center. The Center celebrated 25 years of excellence by hosting a dinner at NMU with lively entertainment. The Women’s Center also owns the distinction of being the oldest Women’s Center in the state of Michigan. The Women’s Center published the ‘Quest’ newsletter, which has developed into a quarterly publication; currently 500 households receive the publication.
1999: At the suggestion of the Community Health Department, the Women’s Center and Michigan State University applied for a grant from the Center for Disease Control to have a research project studying coordinated community responses to domestic violence. The partnership was successful in obtaining the grant and the Women’s Center was one of five organizations in the nation to receive the award. The grant was for three years and increased the budget to a million and a half dollars.
2006: Harbor House moved from a confidential location to a public location. The move was spurred by the availability of a home that came on the market in a perfect location for a public shelter and supported by the Women’s Center strategic plan that encourages the move from a private to a public location to enhance service provision.