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History + Mission

Jacksonville was one of the early leaders in the women’s movement and in developing services to address gender violence. A dedicated group of women in the early 70’s started a rape crisis hotline. They were soon bombarded with calls from women experiencing violence in their homes, for which there were no services available.

In 1976, the women purchased a house in the Springfield area of town and Hubbard House opened its doors specifically for victims of domestic violence and their children. Hubbard House opened as the first domestic violence shelter in Florida and the 13th in the southeast.

Over time, Hubbard House has evolved into a nationally recognized, full-service, certified domestic violence center serving Duval and Baker counties. Initially Hubbard House also provided services to Clay and Nassau counties. Hubbard House worked extensively with those communities to help them develop their own domestic violence centers. In fact Hubbard House served as the fiscal agent for Micah’s Place for their first year of operation.

Over time the shelter moved from Hubbard Street to a safe, secure and confidential location.

Every woman, man, and child who comes to Hubbard House finds support, counseling, and education as they begin the difficult and dangerous transition to safety and peace. Victims of domestic violence and their children are not charged for the life-saving services they receive at Hubbard House.

Each Hubbard House program, whether it focuses on intervention or prevention, contributes toward the agency’s mission of Every Relationship Violence-Free.

Our three main objectives are:

  1. Safety for victims and their children;
  2. Empowerment of victims; and
  3. Social change through education and advocacy.

Some highlights of our history are:

  • February 1976: The Jacksonville Women’s Movement (JWM) purchases a house on Hubbard Street to serve as a shelter for abused women.
  • November 1976: The shelter, now called Hubbard House, opens its doors.
  • April 1978: Hubbard House purchases a second house on Duval Street to provide additional shelter for victims and their families.
  • 1979: The children’s program is introduced, providing therapeutic child care for shelter residents in the Hubbard Street building.
  • July 1981: Hubbard House launches the First Step Program, one of the first intervention programs in the country for batterers and the first in Florida. Over time Hubbard House would take a lead in developing state standards for batterers’ programs, with the CEO chairing the commission.
  • 1985: Hubbard House opens its first thrift store on Edgewood Avenue.
  • 1988: In partnership with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the State Attorney’s Office, Hubbard House inaugurates the Domestic Violence Intervention Project (DVIP), which improves the criminal justice response to better protect victims and hold abusers accountable. The project was later expanded to include the civil process and continues to meet monthly. In 1997, a sub-committee was formed to study and report on all domestic violence homicides. This committee still meets and issues a report with recommendations each year.
  • 1991: The auxiliary organization, Friends of Hubbard House, is formed to increase community awareness of domestic violence and to raise funds for Hubbard House services.
  • 1991: Hubbard House initiated the Student Aware Program which later became the Relationship Abuse Prevention program in area middle and high schools.
  • 1992: Hubbard House, in partnership with ADT Security Systems and the Jacksonville Sheriffís Office, begins Abused Women’s Active Response Emergency (AWARE). This program provides abused women with emergency necklace pendants that signal silent alarms for immediate police assistance.
  • 1992: At the request of the State Attorney’s Office the Helping At Risk Kids Program for children who have lived with violence was established.
  • 1995: Hubbard House’s annual breakfast is named The Barbara Ann Campbell Memorial Breakfast in memory of Jacksonville’s former Mayor Jake Godbold’s sister-in-law, who was killed by her husband earlier that year.
  • 1997: Hubbard House opens its new state-of-the-art facility built by the Jacksonville community through a $4.6 million capital campaign. The shelter was one of the first in the nation built specifically to be a domestic violence center.
  • 1997: Hubbard House develops and copyrights a therapeutic curriculum for child care centers geared to the needs of children who live with violence. This curriculum is shared with centers around the nation.
  • 1998: Mayor’s Task Force on Domestic Violence completes their study. Hubbard House takes a leadership role in the implementation of the 144 recommendations.
  • 1998: Louise Stanton Warren completes and Hubbard House publishes the book A House on Hubbard Street, which details the rich history of the organization and reflects the history of the women’s movement in Jacksonville.
  • 1998: A survivor anonymously makes a $500,000 gift to Hubbard House to establish a building endowment fund. This gift did a great deal to dispel stereotypes of victims in the community.
  • 1998: Executive Order is passed by City of Jacksonville and Hubbard House began providing training to all 9,000 city employees. Executive Order remains in place and training continues.
  • 1999: The Men Against Violence Against Women (MAVAW) initiative is launched to help create social change by talking to men about ending all forms of violence toward women.
  • 2000: In a partnership with the City of Jacksonville and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, Hubbard House initiates the Intimate Violence Enhanced Services Team (INVEST) to help reduce domestic violence homicides and to hold perpetrators accountable. By 2002, intimate homicide had dropped by 63 percent. By 2008, the Attorney General started similar pilots based on our efforts in other portions of the state.
  • 2001: Opening of the Center for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, which incorporates Hubbard House advocates into the Injunction for Protection process so victims can receive lethality assessments, safety plans and referrals at the time of first filing for a protective order.
  • 2005: A historic memorandum (MOU) was signed between the military and the civilian community, with Hubbard House coordinating the efforts. This MOU is the first of its kind in the nation.
  • 2005: The Super Bowl XXXIX Host Committee selects Hubbard House as the official charity of record for the annual Legends for Charity luncheon and auction. The event raises more than $200,000 for the agency.
  • 2006: Terry and Michael Ward make the largest single private gift in Hubbard House history when they donate $2.5 million and later increase this gift by an additional $500,000. The donation was instrumental in establishing the Hubbard House Foundation in 2006 and in the purchase of the Outreach Center and Thrift Store.
  • 2006: The Hubbard House Foundation is established to raise endowed funds to support Hubbard House. The Foundation will help ensure the long-term financial stability of the agency. An endowment campaign is begun that successfully raised over $5 million in endowed funds and more than a million in planned gifts.
  • November 2008: The grand opening of the Outreach Center and Thrift Store located at 6629 Beach Boulevard, Jacksonville, FL 32216 (between University Boulevard and Dean Road). This is the first time Hubbard House had a public location where victims could drop in for help.