In 1981, the U.S. Congress passed a resolution establishing National Women's History Week. In 1987, Congress expanded the week to a month, and has since passed such a resolution every year. Congressional action is followed by a U.S. presidential proclamation declaring March as Women's History Month.

The Victim Services Network ( www.victimservicesnetwork.org) would like to celebrate this month by honoring the women who have made an historical impact on victim services over the years. Nationally, there have been a number of notable women in this field. For instance, there is Marlene Young (founder of the National Organization for Victim Assistance), Judge Lois Haight (creator of the President's Task Force on Victims of Crime), and Eileen Adams (OVC Director who created the concept of Victim Services 2000). Locally, several women have impacted victim services by founding incredible organizations that aid victims in various ways. Some of the VSN member agencies that were founded by women include Mary's Hope Workshops, Mount Saint Vincent, the Rape Assistance and Awareness Program, and WINGS Foundation.

Driven by a deep compassion for survivors of profound childhood abuse and seeking ways to help survivors heal their broken relationships with God, Sherry Niermann and Diane Moore founded Mary's Hope in 2000. The two women use their talents to draw workshop participants into the aching souls of survivors, within an atmosphere conducive to quality adult learning. They are able to take a difficult topic and present it with grace and gentle humor. ( http://maryshope.org/)

Mount Saint Vincent was founded by the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth (Kansas), in 1883, who responded to a compelling need within Denver by creating an orphanage for needy infants and children. As other orphanages were established, Mount Saint Vincent became a home for boys. Today, the home provides services and programs for children with a wide range of emotional and behavioral problems that are preventing them from functioning to their full potential at home, in the community, or in school. ( http://msvhome.org/)

RAAP was established in 1983 when a close friend of RAAP's three founders was raped. In the process of trying to find help for their friend, the three women learned that there was no agency providing low-cost services or immediate crisis intervention services for victims of sexual assault in Denver. The three women, experienced in grassroots fundraising, organized a door-to-door canvass to raise money and started Denver's first rape crisis center, the Rape Assistance and Awareness Program. ( http://raap.org/)

WINGS (once known as Women Incested Needing Group Support) was founded in 1982 by a therapist who recognized a need for a therapy group for women in the Denver metro area who had been incested. The first WINGS group met with three women in a therapist's office. Out of this grew a grassroots movement of women who met together in peer support groups to discuss how to heal from the trauma of childhood sexual abuse. WINGS incorporated in 1986 and received its first grant from the Ms. Foundation. In 1993 WINGS began serving men and started the first male survivor's group. At this time the organization became known simply as WINGS. To learn more about WINGS and the services they provide, please read this month's feature agency article on VSN's website and visit the WINGS website. ( http://www.wingsfound.org/)