For 50 Years, the Abbie Shelter has Been a Voice for Domestic Violence Survivors ‘Suffering in Silence’
- Feb 5
- 6 min read
Launching in 1976 with a 24-hour Rape Crisis Line, the Abbie Shelter has evolved into a six-bed facility, providing resources and court advocacy for domestic violence survivors while educating the community.
By Maggie Dresser
January 30, 2026
On Christmas Eve in 1994, Kalispell’s first facility available for women escaping domestic violence opened its doors in a confidential location, offering beds and resources to shelter clients experiencing abusive relationships. In the years prior, partner abuse offenses were on the rise, but only 34% of nationwide reports resulted in arrests, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The Abigail Frederick Memorial Shelter, better known as the Abbie Shelter, became the Flathead Valley’s first private facility designed to house domestic violence survivors, or “battered women,” as victims were described at the time. The facility was named after the organization’s first paid staff member just a few years after she was killed in a bicycle accident. In addition to housing services, the nonprofit also offers mental health care, legal advocacy and connects their clients to other resources.
But the shelter aspect of the organization is only part of the nonprofit’s mission, which dates back to 1976 when a group of volunteers with the Kalispell chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW), who became known as the “founding mothers,” launched a 24-hour Rape Crisis Line. The program was designed to provide emotional support to victims over the phone while directing women to resources like health care and “prosecution procedures” and was at the time funded through the local United Way chapter.
Before the call line officially launched that April, the group regularly published “volunteers needed” postings in local newspapers and described the need for confidential support and to help formalize procedures on “reporting sexual attacks.”
“There was a growing awareness around the need to support rape victims,” Abbie Shelter Executive Director Kristen Schepker said. “It was known that predominantly women were suffering in silence. They weren’t speaking out about what was happening to them. They certainly weren’t going to the police and filing police reports.”
Nationwide, crisis lines were gaining traction as a confidential avenue for women to obtain support as awareness surrounding “battered women” evolved. Even in rural Montana, during a time when Flathead County’s population hovered around 40,000 people, those founding mothers saw a need.
“It was a pretty bold move for people to speak out and in those early days of the crisis line, it was completely volunteer led,” Schepker said. “It was a group of women who are still referred to by the organization as the founding mothers who really said, ‘enough is enough.’ We see ourselves today as carrying on the legacy of the work 50 years later.”
Today, the confidential shelter is now in its second location with six bedrooms that can host families or individuals who can now stay up to five months. The hotline still exists, although its name has morphed over the years from the “rape crisis line” to “violence free crisis line” to its present name, the “helpline.” It receives an average of 100 calls per month, a statistic that has not changed much over the years, although Schepker clarifies the helpline has reduced its hours from a 24-7 service as volunteer recruitment remains a struggle — a challenge the organization has endured since the beginning. The helpline is available Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The organization also works with multiple nonprofits like Northwest Montana United Way, Samaritan House and Community Action Partnership of Northwest Montana (CAPNM), where Abbie Shelter clients often transition to as they exit abusive situations.
“We’re very cautious with confidentiality,” CAPNM Executive Director Tracy Diaz said. “We’re going to help them with housing and payments, and we show them how they can sustain that housing once we step away. We get them stable and provide assistance if needed.”
In 2025, the Abbie Shelter’s seven paid staff members helped more than 100 individuals in the community submit requests for temporary orders of protection.
Court advocacy remains a significant aspect of the organization’s work since people who experience domestic violence are victims of crime, and the Abbie Shelter has a staff member housed in the Kalispell Police Department office and another in the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office.
“That creates a safe, accessible space for victims and survivors to go and meet with them,” Schepker said. “It’s not always appropriate for all people to engage with law enforcement, but most of the time we get feedback that people feel safer meeting with staff who are literally at the police department.”
Because of the close involvement with the justice system, the Abbie Shelter relies heavily on U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) grants including the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA).
A year ago, that money was at risk amid federal funding freezes, but it was eventually distributed; however, the uncertainty poses future concern since federal grants make up 30% of the Abbie Shelter’s revenue. Schepker now relies on the Whitefish Community Foundation’s Great Fish Challenge, which is also a significant contributor, more than she has in the past.
“In 2025, we did receive all of the federal funding that we expected. That being said, we have seen a reduction in some of our federal grant funding this year in 2026,” Schepker said. “So that’s troubling to me.”
While DOJ programming hasn’t seen cuts, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development money, which is funneled directly to shelter programming, has been on the chopping block.
“For the last year, that’s what’s been keeping me up at night,” Schepker said.
More than 35 years ago, Janet Cahill, the director of the Violence Free Crisis Line (as it was called at the time), told the Daily Inter Lake that, while the volume of clients was unchanged compared to the previous few years, the services increased.
“We are serving about the same number of people, but the number of battered women has increased,” Cahill said in 1989. “And the number of services we provide for each person has increased.”
That same year, the crisis line received roughly 1,200 calls, which is about the same volume the helpline receives today with its reduced hours.
“The more things change, the more they seem to stay the same,” Schepker said. “It’s frustrating; the stats around violence towards women have not changed much. The services that people are asking for have not changed much. It’s really the basics. It’s immediate counseling over the phone. It’s advocacy services. It’s residential services. It’s mental health support.”
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 41% of women and 26% of men have experienced contact sexual violence, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner during their lifetime and reported a related impact.
While the basics of domestic violence resources has gone largely unchanged over the decades, Schepker said her staff has had to adapt to modern day challenges like human trafficking and advances in technology.
For example, victim exploitation has reached new heights as AI generated imagery and sexually explicit content is shared without their knowledge or consent. Stalking has also become more prevalent as abusers plant tracking devices on victim’s vehicles. Shelter staff regularly provide education to survivors that includes disabling their location on their phone.
In recent years, community education has become a pillar of the Abbie Shelter’s work, offering trainings to organizations and businesses while providing regular presentations at the local middle and high schools. Teen-on-teen abuse has become increasingly prevalent, too, Schepker said.
“Unfortunately, we have not seen a downward trend in the level of violence that people are reporting,” Schepker said. “I think we live in a culture that not only accepts but normalizes and even glorifies violence.”
The Abbie Shelter is hosting a “Downton Abbie” tea party event at the Somers Mansion located at 60 Lesley Ave. on Feb. 21 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. to celebrate the 50th anniversary.
The Abbie Shelter’s helpline can be reached Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at (406) 752-7273.
