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Women get organized
The following year, four other women joined the group and, with the technical support of a CLSC worker, they submitted a grant application to train “volunteers” to work in public relations and as facilitators. A mutual-aid and exchange community resource is thus created by single-parent women from Châteauguay and the surrounding areas.
Already in 1983, 175 women from the community had taken advantage of the group meetings. In order to better organize and ensure ongoing services, RE-NOU-VIE undertook steps to incorporate. A grant application was sent to Centraide for the hiring of a full-time coordinator.
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Incorporation
In 1984, the organization became a NPO under the corporate name RE-NOU-VIE. This date is hence the day of the official creation of the organization.
In the summer of 1985, a legal information clinic was created and approximately 70 women joined. In parallel with the counselling and relationship support services, the clinic became a permanent resource.
Since 1986, Re-Nou-Vie has become an essential space for single-parent women to express themselves and develop a sense of belonging. In 1988, the organization moved to a new location to consolidate mutual-aid services and offer more suitable premises to women.
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Deciding on the feminist approach
On March 8, 1993, Re-Nou-Vie hired its first two workers who decided on promoting the feminist approach developed over the years at the Assistance Centres for Victims of Sexual Assault (Centres d’aide et de lutte contre les agressions à caractère sexuel —CALACS). Later in June, the organization undertook a serious reflexion to establish a vision and a common base of action: The Basis of Unity.
From this date, Re-Nou-Vie became part of the great shifting feminist currents that focus on training and facilitation. It is in this context that in 1995, the centre produces the Guide for the Preparation and Facilitation of Feminist Consciousness-Raising Education.
During these years, Re-Nou-Vie increased its exchange and mutual-aid activities and participated in major national movements such as the Women’s March Against Poverty, Bread and Roses, International Women’s day on March 8, and International Worker’s Day on May 1. Re-Nou-Vie also led, along with others, fights for women’s rights, including the one that permitted the adoption of a law on automatic support payment source deduction collections (1995), a measure that has helped reduce poverty for many single-parent families.
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Re-nou-vie expands its mission
Listening to women’s needs, Re-Nou-Vie undertook strategic planning to define a new mission and determine the values of the organization. In June 2017, the members ratify the expansion of the mission at the Annual General Meeting. All women of the region are now welcomed in the organization, proving its capacity to adapt to their prevailing needs and the evolution of our society.
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Re-nou-vie becomes Le Quartier des Femmes
On February 5, 2018, at an extraordinary General Meeting convened as part of a proposed change of name, members voted unanimously to change the name from Re-Nou-Vie to Le Quartier des Femmes. On May 24, 2018, the organization held an event to reveal its new name and identity.
