Charting the Course: A Stroll Through the History of Alexandra House

1979 1980 1981
The Anoka County Task
Force for Battered
Women (ACT) established
Safe Houses and Safe
House providers.
The Task Force established
a shelter facility in Fridley,
MN. It housed 12 women
and children; and was
named Alexandra House,
defender of womankind.
Minnesota Legislation: New
legislation prohibited the
use of marriage and
cohabitation as a defense
in sexual assault cases.
MN Legislation: Probable
cause law was amended
to allow police to arrest
abusers away from their
homes; and Orders for
Protection (OFP) can
order abusers into
treatment or counseling.
The fi rst annual Domestic
Violence Awareness Week
was celebrated nationally.
1979... Safe Houses Program
Support, legal advocacy, and referrals were helpful, but women
and their children ultimately needed a safe place to stay during
their crisis. Without the funding to purchase or build a shelter at
that time, the Task Force established the “Safe Houses” Program.
Volunteers opened their homes to abused women and children
and provided for their basic needs. They could stay in volunteer
advocates’ homes for a few days or even a few months.
1980... A New Name and a Shelter
In 1980, the Anoka County Task Force for Battered Women opened
the first shelter for battered women and their children in Anoka
County. The shelter, located in Fridley, MN, was able to house 12
women and children.
The Task Force named the new shelter after the Catholic saint, St.
Alexandra, whose name means “defender of woman kind,” and
one of the organization’s founders, Lexi Selvig. The shelter was
named Alexandra House.
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1) First emergency shelter in
Anoka County. Alexandra
House, Fridley, MN.
2) Catholic Saint: St. Alexandra,
defender of womankind.
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