Our Mission
Our mission is to provide the campus community with education, direct services, and resources focused on basic needs, interpersonal violence, and gender equity. We empower all people to actively stand against all forms of violence and oppression. By providing these services, we offer hope and opportunities to thrive in our community.
Our Values
Empowerment
We provide holistic support and resources to build resilience, and foster self efficacy so students can overcome challenges and confidently advocate for their needs.
Community
At Abby’s House, we collaborate with campus and local resources to best support students in their academic success and overall wellbeing. We promote a culture that values diversity and we believe that the entire community shares responsibility for reducing inequities and violence.
Equity
In Abby’s House, we identify barriers that prevent students from accessing resources, and we address them by providing education and referrals designed to fit the unique needs of each student.
Our Name and History
1834
Honoring Abigail
The name Abby’s House was chosen in honor of Abigail and her fight for women’s rights.
Abigail Scott Duniway was born in 1834. Though known for being the first woman to register to vote in Oregon, she additionally fought for women’s right to vote and own property in the state for over forty years.
Read more about Abigail Scott Duniway here!
Late 1980s
A Collective Dream
Abby’s House began as a collective dream shared by passionate students and faculty who wished to address contemporary women’s issues at Western Oregon University in the late 1980s. They talked of opening a Women’s Center in 1987, to provide services like anti-discrimination advocacy, career opportunities for women, peer counseling, outreach programs, information on women’s reproductive health, and recreational events. However, it would take nearly 15 more years to fully bring this dream to fruition.
1998
From Club to Women’s Center
Abby’s House initially started out as a club. Faculty members Dr. Laurie Zink and Jeanne Deane were pioneers in the fight for establishing Abby’s House as an official women’s center. Zink conducted a student needs survey in 1998, which revealed the specific needs of the community. The Abby’s House research team collected faculty and staff perspectives, student perspectives, conducted faculty interviews, facilitated a student-parent survey, and finally gathered petition signatures in support of their mission.
2001 – 2010
Expansion of Services
By 2001, Abby’s House was officially a small Women’s Resource Center located in downtown Monmouth. Services were expanded to support additional issues like domestic violence, sexual assault, financial instability, and more. Back then, the center was still in its beginning stage, only open for a couple hours each weekday. Run almost entirely by the dedication of volunteers, Abby’s House was a true labor of love.
By 2010, Abby’s House had transformed with the help of funding from grants. Now located on campus, there was a whole new world of possibilities. Advocates were now being trained to provide additional services to survivors, like attending hospital visits and legal proceedings. Students presented events and educational workshops to spread awareness throughout the university, and the Abby’s House community was quickly growing.
Today
Center for Equity & Gender Justice
Over time, Abby’s House evolved into what we know it as today, transitioning from a Women’s Center to the Center for Equity and Gender Justice, to serve all identities that make up the student population and provide personalized resources, services, and support for every student in need. Abby’s House runs the Food Pantry and Stitch Closet on campus as well as the Stonewall Center, Western’s LGTBQ+ center and lounge space. Now open 40 hours a week and staffed with coordinators, confidential advocates, and student staff, the center has grown into an organization that would warm the hearts of those outspoken activists four decades ago.
Throughout the long journey to get where we are today, Abby’s House has always been a place where you are never alone.
