Helena Woman's Center records
Scope and Contents
Records. 3.5 linear feet. 1975-1983. Records of the Helena Woman's Center consist of general correspondence; case files; financial records; legal documents; minutes of general meetings, steering committee meetings, and staff meetings; organizational materials, including articles of incorporation, bylaws, organizational descriptions, membership lists, etc.; subject files; miscellany; and clippings. The subject files form the heart of the collection. The files include materials on the Battered Woman Task Force, the Crisis Line, displaced homemakers, gay and lesbian rights, the Montana Coalition to Stop Violence Against Women, the Montana Pro-Choice Coalition, the Montana Spouse-Abuse Task Force, the Rape Awareness Program (RAP), the Violence Against Women Program, the Helena women's history wall mural, and the Woman's Support Line. The case files consist of Crisis Line and Support Line telephone call sheets documenting help given to victims of rape and domestic violence. [Published newsletters transferred to Library.]
Dates
- Creation: 1975-1983
Language of Materials
English
Conditions Governing Access
Collection open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of the Montana Historical Society. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collection. In some cases permission for use may require additional authorization from the copyright owners. For more information contact an archivist.
Biographical / Historical
The Helena Woman's Center was incorporated in May 1975 to provide a place for women to develop and market job skills, and to provide information and referral services to women for personal and employment problems. The founders of the center were Lynne Scott, Judi Pollard and Jane Lovelady. In August 1975 the Center began its Rape Awareness Program (RAP), which operated a 24-hour crisis line, a referral service, and a speakers bureau. Extensive training and education were provided to volunteers and to the public on the incidence of rape, on self-defense, and on rape counselling. Emphasis was placed on removing old stereotypes about rape victims. The Center also initiated a Battered Woman Task Force, which later merged with the Rape Awareness Program to form the Violence Against Women Program. The Center conducted various support and consciousness-raising groups, published a monthly newsletter entitled the Woman's Center News, and was instrumental in creating the women's historical mural in downtown Helena. In April 1983, faced with loss of funding and difficulty in recruiting volunteers to run its programs, the Helena Woman's Center formally dissolved.
Extent
3.5 linear feet
Abstract
The Helena Woman's Center of Helena, Montana, was a women's support organization founded in 1975 to offer aid to victims of violence against women. Records (1975-1983) include correspondence; case files; financial records; legal documents; minutes; organizational materials, including articles of incorporation and bylaws. Also included are subject files concerning such topics as the Battered Women Task Force, displaced homemakers, gay and lesbian rights, the Montana Coalition to Stop Violence Against Women, the Montana Pro-choice Coalition, the Rape Awareness Program, the Women's Support Line, sexual harassment, and the women's history wall mural.
Arrangement
Arranged by series. Some material housed in Archives Map Case. See inventory below for more information.
Physical Location
13:1-2
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Acquisition information available upon request
Separated Materials
Published newsletters transferred to Library.
Geographic
Occupation
Topical
- Title
- Guide to the Helena Woman's Center records 1975-1983
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by MHS staff
- Date
- 1994
- Description rules
- Finding Aid Based On Dacs ( Describing Archives: A Content Standard 2nd Edition)
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Repository Details
Part of the Montana Historical Society, Research Center Archives Repository
225 North Roberts
PO Box 201201
Helena MT 59620-1201 United States
406-444-2681
406-444-2696 (Fax)
mhslibrary@mt.gov