Lynn wasn’t planning on making history or launching a 47-year career devoted to preventing violence against women in 1972. After working as a women’s page reporter for the Peterborough Examiner and trying law school for a year, Lynn was volunteering at a women’s centre in Toronto when she started receiving calls from women trying to escape abusive marriages. There was no safe place for them to go, so Lynn rallied a group of women to create one and opened the doors to Interval House, Canada’s first shelter for women and children fleeing abuse in 1973.
She continued her work at Interval House for 12 years before moving on to become the executive director of the YWCA in Peterborough, a role she recently retired from after 35 years. Lynn was honoured for her contributions to protecting victims of violence and for her advocacy of women’s rights with a Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee Medal in 2002 and in 2019, she was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada.