IWD and 40 Years of Service: Second Story Women’s Centre

On this International Women’s Day we are reflecting on our roots. Not only that we stand humbly on the shoulders of all of the women and gender diverse people who have struggled for hundreds of years against oppression and patriarchal power - that is a given, but also our local roots as an organization. Be the Peace Institute started as a 3-year project of Second Story Women’s Centre (SSWC), funded by Women and Gender Equality Canada in 2012.

Second Story celebrates its 40th anniversary today and we want to honour that legacy of dedication to women’s rights, opportunity and equality over all of these years. And Be the Peace Institute is not the only organization Second Story has helped establish. We had the opportunity to speak with Phyllis Price, one of the founders of SSWC about its origin story.

It all started in 1978 when the Lunenburg County Women’s Group came together for “consciousness raising,” as it was known at the time. By late 1982 funding for six months was received from the Secretary of State Women’s Programme (encouraging the centre to become self-sustaining during that period!). On IWD, March 8th, 1983, Second Story Women’s Centre opened its doors upstairs over a King Street car dealership in Bridgewater.
Bringing women together around issues like over-prescription of drugs to women, men’s violence against them, poverty, the lack of wage parity, pensions, funding to women groups and economic equality, it soon became clear that women needed a place where they could escape from abusive partners. Harbour House Transition House was created, along with a Lunenburg County Helpline, and what became Planned Parenthood Lunenburg County, which still exists today as South Shore Sexual Health. It was the rapid response from the community to all the action coming out of Second Story that encouraged the Women’s Programme to support additional periods of funding.
Second Story became a hub for collective political action, organizing election debates on women’s issues, and appearing before municipal councils, parliamentary and legislative committees. Women learned about empowerment in their personal lives, their employment and changes needed in education. After six years Second Story became a co-founder of the provincial organization, Women’s Centres Connect.

Women’s centres serve some of the most vulnerable people. Often the barometer of our community health and well-being, especially in underserved rural areas, women’s centres, including SSWC, continue to meet increased demand for support, services and essentials for women with nowhere else to turn. They provide safe, non-judgemental and accessible spaces that offer preventative and responsive services for youth and adults, diverse programming and free, community-centred, trauma informed counseling – the cornerstone of their services given ongoing barriers to accessible and timely care through our mental health system.

They address the root causes of violence such as poverty, homelessness, isolation, mental health issues, substance abuse and work to provide immediate and ongoing interventions,working co-operatively with “sister” organization, Harbour House, when women and children leaving violence need access to free 24/7 communal shelter, support and relocation assistance.

On this International Women’s Day – a day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women, girls and gender diverse people around the world, it is also a call to action for accelerating gender equity through bold new agendas in achieving these targets.

While we reflect on the crucial role women’s centres play in providing direct services within a feminist intersectional and trauma-informed framework, there is still much work to be done.

In recent years women’s centres, have faced down restrictive/competitive funding dynamics, Covid shut downs, heightened frequency and severity of violence against women and other vulnerabilized people and increasing calls for support, all with limited capacity. They keep rising to the challenge, often on a shoestring and in the wake of adjacent global shadow pandemics of racism, white supremacy, homelessness, transphobia, inflation, the expansion of anti-choice “Crisis Pregnancy Centres” in our own backyard, and the continued marginalization of those most vulnerable.

Women’s centres are a lifeline for so many in these trying times. They are essential not only in combating the ideologies and misogynist behaviours that lead to events like Nova Scotia’s horrific mass shooting, but in the provision of trauma informed services for victims, their families and surrounding communities.

The need for trans-inclusive, intersectional, anti-racist, pro-choice feminist organizations cannot be understated. Now more than ever, it is imperative to sustain our women’s centre and to acknowledge the crucial role our local women’s centre plays in our communities.

SSWC has been listening to the voices of those they serve and tailoring programming and services around those needs, recognizing that they are the experts in their own lives. Providing essential services to meet the identified needs of women and gender diverse people in our communities since 1983, they have fearlessly advocated for change; given tirelessly; listened compassionately; supported, counselled and provided a safe space where people not only find immediate help, but also welcome and refuge.

Just now, Second Story is in a challenging transition time, but there is a lot of support and strength and resilience in the women’s community and they will get through this, too. Second Story staff are stalwart in their mission, and their constituents, clients and supporters are forever grateful.

A salute to Second Story Women’s Centre on this, their 40th anniversary! May there be 40 more.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, organized individuals can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has" has never rung more true.

Happy International Women’s Day and may we all find the most peaceful paths to getting through challenging times together. In peace and solidarity, Sue & Stacey

*credit: Margaret Mead, 1978