1973

Members of the Interval House Collective receive funding and prepare to open

The Women’s Place in Toronto was one of many feminist centres springing up across Canada in the 70s where feminist activists could politically organize. 24-year-old Lynn Zimmer had been volunteering at the centre in the summer of 1972 when she noticed an increasing number of phone calls from women who were searching for ways to escape abuse at home.

Realizing there was nowhere for these women to go, Zimmer decided to create a safe space for them along with their children. She posted a note on the wall of The Women’s Place inviting anyone who was interested in creating a women’s shelter to come to a meeting: “Want to do something for women in distress? If you’re interested in forming a women’s shelter, please come to this meeting.”

Ten women came to that meeting to form the Interval House collective: Darlene Lawson, Kate Hanson, Marilyn Tinsley, Maggie O’Brien, Longdon Reid, Joice Guspie, Billie Stone, Suzanne Alexanderson, Martha Ireland, and Christine Poulter. The collective applied for a Local Initiatives Program grant for $30,000 and started planning out what would become Canada’s first shelter for women and children escaping domestic abuse.