Safe Haven/Women’s Coalition Oral History Project
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of ten interviews conducted in early 2015 with women who had been involved with the original organization of the Northeastern Minnesota Coalition of Battered Women, a group dedicated to opening a shelter and offering resources to assist battered women in Duluth, MN. Founded in 1978 as a collective and later known simply as the Women’s Coalition, this group evolved into the Safe Haven Shelter and Resource Center in 2001. Interviewees include women involved with the establishment of the first and later shelter facilities, and others who were closely linked as a volunteers, staff or employees of associated organizations. The project generated over eleven hours of audio files and 181 pages of interview transcripts. Video of a few of the interviews was also recorded.
Interview questions focused on how and why each narrator became involved with the Women’s Coalition, how they were trained, what work they did, what they learned and what kept them working on this important, intense topic. Narrators shared stories of organizational successes and challenges, lessons learned about racial discrimination and perceptions, and stories of women and children helped by the shelter. Relationships with other organizations such as the Domestic Abuse Intervention Program (DAIP) were discussed, often remembering DAIP founder Ellen Pence and Shelter organizer Cathy Curley, both now deceased. Women remembered working alone at night, assisting women who had just experienced violence, or advocating for them in the court system. Some memories focused on the importance of the feminist philosophy and the original Collective organizational structure to model a new society without hierarchy or rigid roles and titles. Many narrators discussed their perspectives on the role of women in today’s society and the changing attitudes about violence and even the language changes from “battered women” to “domestic abuse” and the implications of those words.
Transcripts and more information about the project are available below in "Other Finding Aids." Recordings of the interviews are available upon request.
Dates
- Creation: 2015
Conditions Governing Access
Open for use in the Kathryn A. Martin Library, Archives and Special Collections.
Conditions Governing Use
This collection may be protected by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code). It is the user's responsibility to verify copyright ownership and to obtain all necessary permissions prior to the reproduction, publication, or other use of any portion of these materials. Researchers may quote from the collection under the fair use provision of the copyright law.
Biographical / Historical
The Safe Haven/Women’s Coalition Oral History Project was undertaken in 2015 to record the memories of the founding and development of the Northeastern Minnesota Coalition of Battered Women, a group dedicated to opening a shelter and offering resources to assist battered women in Duluth, MN. This shelter was one of the first such shelters in Minnesota and the United States. Founded in 1978 as a collective and later known simply as the Women’s Coalition, this group evolved into the Safe Haven Shelter and Resource Center in 2001. Safe Haven currently operates a 39 bed shelter, resource center and support groups.
Interviews were conducted Gina Temple-Rhodes of Cedar Story Services, an oral and family history recording service in Duluth, MN. Transcriptions were completed by Gina Temple-Rhodes, Abbie Scheiderer and Susan Taylor of Duluth and were approved by the narrators.
Special thanks to Jean DeRider, an early organizer who was committed to getting this history recorded. The oral history project was managed by Safe Haven Shelter and Resource Center. Project funding was provided by the State of Minnesota from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the Minnesota Historical Society. Interview files are housed in the UMD Archives and Special Collections at the Kathryn A. Martin Library at the University of Minnesota, Duluth.
Extent
10 items
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The collection consists of ten interviews conducted in early 2015 with women who had been involved with the original organization of the Northeastern Minnesota Coalition of Battered Women, a group dedicated to opening a shelter and offering resources to assist battered women in Duluth, MN. Founded in 1978 as a collective and later known simply as the Women’s Coalition, this group evolved into the Safe Haven Shelter and Resource Center in 2001.
Physical Location
This collection is located at the University of Minnesota Duluth Archives. For more information about this collection or to make an appointment, contact us at libarchives@d.umn.edu or 218-726-8526.
Other Finding Aids
Genre / Form
Geographic
Topical
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Collecting Area Details
Contact The University of Minnesota Duluth Archives and Special Collections Collecting Area
Kathryn A. Martin Library
University of Minnesota Duluth
416 Library Drive
Duluth MN 55812-3001
(218) 726-8526
libarchives@d.umn.edu