Our history

Chrysalis was born out of a fertile time in the women's movement in the United States. The foremother of Chrysalis, the Women's Resource Center, opened at the Minneapolis YWCA in 1973. With the leadership of one full-time non-paid former YWCA intern, the center provided services to women in the areas of chemical dependency, advocacy and education.

As the demands for the center grew the decision was made for the Women's Resource Center to become an organization independent of the YWCA. The center became known as Chrysalis, A Center for Women, and moved to 2304 Stevens Avenue in south Minneapolis.

Chrysalis functioned as a collective for the first year of its existence. Each staff person was a voting member, as were volunteers who provided at least 48 hours of service per year, and all decisions were made jointly. The founding mothers remember discussing everything from how to influence the legislature to what kind of toilet paper to buy. It was an unusual dynamic, as the need to secure funding pushed Chrysalis to function in a more traditional fashion but its advocacy efforts called upon the agency to be a grassroots, counter-culture organization. In the end, the agency went the route of a more traditional structure, and in 1976 the official collective ended and the agency's first Executive Director was hired.

Programs and services grew as funding for new programming was secured. In 1977, Chrysalis was one of the 13 agencies nation-wide to receive a 3-year grant for chemical dependency treatment. Mental Health counseling was offered on a sliding fee of $0-20 per session. Many education and support groups were offered with such titles as: Single Moms, Movement, Depression, Lesbian Feelings, Dance Therapy, Support for Older Women, Support for Black women, AA and Astro Yoga. In addition, advocacy efforts were intense. Past employees tell of their experiences transporting battered women and their children to local shelters, sometimes with their abusers chasing them through the streets of Minneapolis.

Chrysalis went on to have 5 more Executive Directors. A variety of services have been added through the years: the LAW Program began in 1977; the Mental Health Clinic began in 1983; Family Education was added in 1997; the Pro Bono Safety Project began as a pilot project in 1999; and the Kids' Cocoon became a fully licensed child care center in 2002. In 2004, the Chemical Health Program added three new programs: Co-Occurring Disorders, Thunder Spirit Center and B.A.S.I.C.S. (B.A.S.I.C.S. ended and became GROW in 2007). In October 2005, we  began a supervised visitation program, Parenting Time.

In the early 1990's, we revised the mission to include women's families as a part of our service focus, and as a result the agency's name was changed to simply Chrysalis. This came out of our increased understanding of the importance of a woman's children, parents and partners and how her relationships are intimately connected with her own empowerment.

In the last five years, Chrysalis Board and staff have continued to grapple with the scope of our work and relationships. In 1995, Chrysalis began actively recruiting men for our Board and staff and in 1996 we adopted a policy of inclusion for transgendered women. In 2006 we completed a strategic plan out of which came a revised mission and philosophy that expands our commitment to women and reflects the desires of the community. The merger with Tubman Family Alliance is our most recent change.

From its very beginning, Chrysalis' goal was to provide opportunities for growth to women in transition by offering a supportive environment and appropriate resources - a goal clearly similar to our mission today. Additionally, we have been committed to educating the public about issues that affect many women and families in Minnesota from day one.

Every woman who has walked through the doors of Chrysalis has in some way helped to shape what this agency is today. Chrysalis was born out of a time of turmoil in this country. We struggled, we met the challenges before us and they have given us the strength to grow. Today we're stronger than ever, with a proud tradition of serving the needs of women and families in this community and a bright future ahead of us. Thank you for contributing to Chrysalis' success and helping women and their families to build strong and healthy lives.

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