Women's Center starts special fund

The Marquette Women’s Center has established a new fund to ensure
critical needs for survivors of domestic and sexual violence, Martha
Parks, President of its Board of Directors announced Friday.

The fund is called the Gary Walker Special Needs Fund to honor Marquette County’s long-time prosecuting attorney who retired at the end of 2011.
Walker was appointed Marquette County’s Prosecuting Attorney in 1974, one year after the Women’s Center opened in 1973. Walker retired as the
longest serving prosecutor in Michigan, while the Women’s Center is the
longest operating women’s center in Michigan.

“Gary was in the forefront of those who recognized the need for new and
aggressive responses to crimes of domestic and sexual violence,” said Pat
Micklow, one of the founding mothers of the Women’s Center and currently
Treasurer of the Women’s Center/Harbor House Board of Directors.
“For almost 40 years, the Women’s Center and Gary have marched together in the ongoing fight against domestic and sexual violence. In the 1970s, domestic violence victims were forced to sign their own complaints and prosecutors routinely imposed long waiting periods for arrest warrants in these cases. Walker understood the harmful effects of these practices and enacted reforms locally before the new state laws went into effect,” said Micklow.

Karlyn Rapport, also a founding mother of the Women’s Center and Vice
President of the WC/HH Board observed that Walker served on the first
Marquette County Spouse Abuse Task Force, provided leadership at state
and local levels for new policies and practices, and secured hundreds of
thousands of dollars in grant funds for domestic-violence programs.

“Gary Walker has always invested in hiring and training staff sensitive
to the many psychological factors in play in cases of domestic and sexual
violence. The intent of the Gary Walker Special Needs Fund is to assure
the continuance of his and the Women’s Center/Harbor House’s joint legacy of a safe haven for survivors,” stated Rapport.

Anyone may honor Walker with a contribution to the Women’s Center Gary
Walker Special Needs Fund. Checks may be sent to the Marquette Women’s Center, 1310 S. Front St., Marquette, MI 49855.

For more than 38 years, the Women’s Center has provided safe emergency shelter, counseling, and support services to over 21,900 individuals. It operates the Harbor House domestic violence shelter, which is the only emergency shelter for women and children fleeing abusive homes in Marquette and Alger Counties. Women’s Center programs help locate affordable housing, find adequate employment, and put safety precautions in place for women and children fleeing domestic violence. During this last fiscal year, the Harbor House and Women’s Center staff and volunteers provided 3,633 shelter nights and processed 5,229 crisis
calls.