Northwest N.J. Regional Women’s Center

The Northwest N.J. Regional Women’s Center was established in 1987 by proclamation of the New Jersey State Legislature. The mission was to provide educational and counseling services to women and their families in Northwest New Jersey, which includes Hunterdon, Morris, Sussex and Warren Counties. The Center is a private, non-profit organization. The main location is at Centenary College in Hackettstown with service locations throughout the four county area.

The Center has five clinics. The original clinic, the Legal Clinic, was established in 1988. We have at any given time between 15-20 volunteer attorneys, in private practices, who donate their services to provide information, advice, or a second opinion to all members of our community. There is a pre-registration fee of $20, which is a donation to the Center. There are four other clinics – counseling, financial, career and mediation that also all have professional volunteers.

The Women’s Center also offers monthly book discussions, specific programs of interest during the year, an annual 5K Breast Cancer Walk (this year on October 3rd) and many Women’s History Month (March) events. This year we are having a fall festival: New Jersey Women’s Home Business Showcase and Sale on November 7th and a book signing event in March.

We have a monthly Cable Show that is televised on four area cable stations in our catchment area, that focus on topics of interest to the community. The most recent shows are on Genealogy, Professional Etiquette and Finding a Job. The Women’s Center has also published a Legal Rights Booklet, the first edition was printed in 1990 and has been revised four times. The most recent revision is set to be released in September 2009. The information within has been written and revised by the Legal Clinic volunteer attorneys.

Dr. Deborah Diamond Fisch, a licensed psychologist in private practice has been the Director of the Center for the past 15 years and JoAnn Holland has been the Administrative Assistant for 20 years. The Women’s Center is always looking for volunteers to help with program design and implementation. Anyone interested in volunteering their time and getting involved should call (908) 852-9365.