History of the WRC
The birth of the Women's Resource Center, Inc. occurred in the Winter of 1973-74, when a graduate student in Human Relations, wanted to develop seminars for women undergoing and/or anticipating change in their lives. The particular sort of changes she had in mind were women seeking employment or returning to school after spending some years out of school and the work force, or women facing divorce or their children leaving home. As she pursued her idea, it became apparent that a short-term seminar was insufficient to develop the self-confidence in women that would enable them to make effective decisions about their future. des A series of discussion groups for women to be called "Women in Transition," were the first program of the Women's Resource Center.
The Women's Resource Center was officially incorporated in the fall of 1974 in order to apply for funding and the first Board of Directors was chosen.
It was apparent by the end of 1974 that having a permanent geographical site was important. The Women's Resource Center, Inc. was established at 206½ Gray Street.
Office hours began on January 13, 1975. On January 15, a community meeting was held to discuss possible programs for the Center and to enlist volunteers. Thirty-six people attended this meeting and contributed suggestions for future programs. The Norman Police department agreed to work through the Center to provide counseling services for rape victims.
During the spring of 1976, the Center applied to the United Way of Norman for funding. We were admitted as a new United Way agency in 1976 and first received funds for 1977.
The first "rape response team" in Norman was a direct result of a request from the Norman Police Department for the fledgling center to speak to victims of sexual assault who did not want to speak with a male police officer. So 1977-77 marked WRC's first tentative step into the world of "direct services" for female victims. Fortunately, Susan Brownmiller's book, Men, Women and Rape was newly published and the volunteers of the Women's Resource Center educated themselves and took on the task. Professional counselors originally recruited to work with the rape response team, then began to offer counseling at the center. The Women's Resource Center quickly gained a reputation for being available to talk with women about things they wouldn’t speak to anyone else about.
The idea for aiding battered women in the Norman community was developed by several concerned women who formed a Task Force on Battered and Abused Women in 1976. A survey of lawyers in Cleveland County that year found that one third of the county's divorce cases cited physical abuse as the principle problem. The Task Force was concerned about the large number of battered women in the community who had so few resources to draw upon for help.
Concerned individuals in the community opened their homes to women and their children. Local hotels also offered rooms as shelter for a limited number of days. Norman Police officers took up collections in their squad room to pay for night's of lodging for women and children they encountered responding to domestic violence calls.
Representatives from 18 different communities came together in March 1979 to discuss the possibility of opening a safe house specifically for the purpose of sheltering battered women and their children. A six bedroom home, 62 years old and in need of repair, was on the market for $40,000. An extensive fund raising drive was launched, soliciting donations from individuals and community groups, as well as involving benefit concerts, garage sales, and television telethon. Over 7000 community people contributed to the campaign through fundraising, donations, and hard work and Norman Shelter for Battered Women opened on March 3, 1980, after months of restoration work on the dilapidated two-story house.
A grant from the Oklahoma Department of Consumer Affairs that had helped in funding programming at WRC ended in 1982. It had been a large grant and left an enormous hole in a tiny budget. By early 1986, WRC was dipping into reserve funds to meet payroll and there was no "new money" in sight. The WRC Board of Directors produced a plan to bring expenses in balance with income. Their decision was the most difficult action of any board in WRC's history. Positions were eliminated and staff salaries for remaining employees were reduced by 20%. Health and Life insurance was eliminated.
WRC sponsored women's forums as public events in the early 1990s. These well-attended events featured speakers of world renown, most notably, Anita Hill, a former WRC board member, and Wilma Mankiller, the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation.
Local women artists are encouraged to display their work in the halls of WRC so that they might gain a broader audience and we may show our support for their endeavors. WRC also tries to sponsor lectures, discussion groups and experiential opportunities for the women of our community in the spring and in the fall.
The Women's Resource Center, Inc. court advocacy component of the education began with money received from Violence Against Women Act funds in 1997. The position was no longer funded in 2001 but WRC continued the work.
WRC is committed to paying close attention to the needs of women in our community so that if a particular type of group or counseling and support for women is not already offered in the Norman and surrounding communities, WRC can attempt to fill the void.
A generous anonymous donor made it possible for WRC to move to new administrative and counseling office space in 2001. New furniture and equipment was purchased and every effort was made to provide welcoming and warm environments for the women and children who seek services at the Women's Resource Center.
The same anonymous donor provided WRC with the funds to purchase new property to house the shelter for victims of domestic violence and her only requirement was that WRC would also build a rape crisis center.
The new shelter opened in March of 2003 and provided better accommodations for disabled people as well as space to house families with older male children.
The new rape crisis center opened in June of 2004 with an exam room, a waiting room for families and a small area where a rape survivor could stay overnight in the event that it is too dangerous for her to return to her own residence.