~ A short herstory of NELCWIT ~

The birth of NELCWIT

In 1975, four women sat around a kitchen table in New Salem, discussing the need for an organized program that would offer services for battered women and their children in our area.  They wanted to provide several kinds of support, including crisis intervention, safe shelter, and advocacy for legal, vocational, and financial problems. This group was to become the New England Learning Center for Women in Transition.

NELCWIT opened her first outreach office at 34 Bank Row in Greenfield in 1976, offering counseling to women who were experiencing abuse, neglect, separation, or divorce. NELCWIT volunteers were already receiving referrals six months before the office opened, and it became clear that many women in our community were in dire need of assistance.  In 1977, with a staff of 22 volunteers, NELCWIT was incorporated as a non-profit multi-service center addressing the needs of women in major life transitions.  At the onset, temporary shelter for women who were escaping abusive relationships was provided through a careful network of approximately a dozen private homes throughout the county.  In February of 1979, NELCWIT opened a shelter for battered women and their children. 

In addition to addressing the immediate problems in women's lives, early NELCWIT volunteers also saw a need to educate the community at large.  The women of NELCWIT challenged the public acceptance of domestic abuse; they put pressure on the courts and law enforcement agencies to improve their responses to battering; and they became an information clearinghouse, gathering statistics from courts and local human service agencies, maintaining a library dealing with women's issues, and participating in conferences, workshops, and trainings on violence against women.  The new organization's goal was to end oppression against women - and all forms of oppression.

The growth of our programs

In 1984 NELCWIT received funding to become a rape crisis center, enabling us to increase our rape prevention work and to do more work with rape survivors.  In 1988, as a result of our first capital campaign, we were able to purchase our own shelter and office buildings.  In addition to our main office in Greenfield, we also have offices in the North Quabbin.  Our court advocates help victims of violence to obtain restraining orders; our child-safe program offers counseling for children who have witnessed violence; and, since 1997, our Domestic Violence Intervention Project advocates have been working with the police departments in several towns to respond to domestic violence and rape calls.  Many volunteers still help NELCWIT with all of these activities. 

NELCWIT's Survivors Project opened in May 1999 after five years of planning and operated until 2006.  This innovative program received national recognition. 

NELCWIT's anti-oppression work

In the early 1990s, NELCWIT expanded its commitment to ending oppression with the formation of a multicultural committee.  While the women of NELCWIT's staff and board were almost all white and middle class, those we served were more often poor, and, increasingly, women of color.  The new committee wanted to make sure our programs and services were accessible for women of color and to attract more women of color to staff positions.

By the mid-90s, we realized that despite our good intentions, women of color who came to NELCWIT, whether for support or as staff or board members, were experiencing racism.  In 1996, NELCWIT committed itself to becoming an anti-racist organization, and developed a new strategic plan clearly connected to and grounded in an anti-racist perspective.  We began to identify ourselves as an anti-racist, social change organization.

Where are we now?

This is a time of many changes, and in the past few years we have experienced a decrease in support from many of our traditional sources of income.  A few years ago our staff numbered close to 50; today it is about half that.  In October 2006, we closed our domestic violence shelter due to decreased funding from the state.  Sadly, it was not just our shelter that closed; there are now fewer shelter beds throughout Massachusetts for those escaping domestic and sexual violence.  We hope that soon we will once again be able to provide residential services beyond our network of volunteer safe homes.

In the meantime, we are exploring innovative ways to do our work and finding new models for working with the families who come to us for help. 

NELCWIT's archivist is the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College, Northampton MA.  You can view their website and its fascinating and comprehensive information on women's history at http://www.smith.edu/libraries/libs/ssc.
 

9/09

~DONATE NOW~

HOME

CRISIS INFORMATION and OUR SERVICES
Hotlines
Counseling and Advocacy
Prevention Education
North Quabbin services
En Español
Indigenous Voices
Safe Homes

DONATE TO NELCWIT

ABOUT NELCWIT
Contact info & directions
Employment opportunities
Volunteer opportunities
Newsletter
Mission & vision statements
Our herstory

EVENTS

RESOURCES
Links
Info about domestic violence
Info about sexual assault
Info about dating violence
Info about healthy relationships