About Us

About Hubbard House

Survivor, we are here for you. Hubbard House serves victims of domestic violence and their families.

Our Mission

Safety, empowerment and social change for victims of domestic violence and their families.

Our Vision

Every Relationship Violence-Free.

Who We Are

Hubbard House is a full-service certified domestic violence center serving Duval and Baker counties. Our core services include an emergency shelter, an Outreach Center, a 24/7 Domestic Violence Hotline, and much more. Hubbard House has answered more than 135,000 hotline calls and sheltered more than 155,000 victims of domestic violence and their children in our life-saving and life-changing 47-year history. The agency’s impact can be measured in suffering spared, lives liberated, and tragic deaths avoided right here in our local community. A path to safety begins with a confidential call to our 24/7 Domestic Violence Hotline, available by phone at (904) 354-3114 or by text at (904) 210-3698.

Our History

In the 1970s, a small group of women saw a need for and established a rape crisis hotline, but many of the calls revealed a common thread: domestic violence. As they began to focus their efforts on domestic violence, a volunteer riding a bicycle on Hubbard Street, in the Springfield area of Jacksonville, saw a house for sale. In that spot in 1976, Hubbard House opened as Florida’s first domestic violence shelter.

Throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s, Hubbard House continued to grow and innovate. We purchased a second house, added children’s programs, and opened a thrift store to support the agency. We put more focus on prevention and intervention as well, including speakers presenting to middle and high school students.

Today, Hubbard House is a 116-bed facility located in a safe, secure, and confidential location. Vital wrap-around services, like counseling, are provided at the shelter, at the Hubbard House Outreach Center on Beach Boulevard, and in the community. Victim advocates are embedded with the Department of Children and Families and at the Duval County Courthouse. We also work closely with partners in law enforcement, government, social service organizations, and our community to show victims of domestic violence that they are not alone and to raise awareness.

A Leader in the Movement to End Domestic Violence

One of the first shelters for victims of domestic violence in the southeast, Hubbard House has led the way in the movement to end domestic violence. Some of Hubbard House’s accomplishments include:

  • Opening the first domestic violence shelter in Florida in 1976.
  • Introducing the First Step Program in 1981, which was one of the first intervention programs for batterers in the country.
  • Creating the InVEST program in 2000 in partnership with the City of Jacksonville and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, with the goal to end deadly intimate partner violence. Within the first two years of the program, intimate partner homicides dropped by 63%, and the program continues to successfully intervene and save lives. InVEST has now been replicated statewide.
  • Partnering with the Department of Children and Families in domestic violence-related child welfare investigations. Hubbard House was among the first domestic violence centers in the country to partner with DCF, including co-locating Hubbard House advocates at DCF. This CPI Project was rolled out statewide in 2014.
  • Bringing community education to a virtual and international level in 2020, in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Victims of domestic violence were trapped at home with their abusers for months on end, so Hubbard House sought out and took every opportunity to raise awareness of the life-changing, life-saving services we offer.

How We Help Victims and Their Children

Who We Serve

All services are free, confidential, and available to victims of domestic violence of any race, age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, education, religion, economic background, immigration status, language spoken, or other personal identifiers. Victims do not need to leave the abusive relationship in order to access our services.

How to Reach Us

Help begins with a call to our 24/7 confidential domestic violence hotline at (904) 354-3114, or a text to our 24/7 confidential domestic violence textline at (904) 210-3698. Advocates are also available to meet in-person at our Outreach Center at 6629 Beach Blvd., during business hours. We recommend making an appointment by calling (904) 400-6300. A trained advocate will assess needs and safety plan with the victim.

Shelter for All Victims

For women, men, and children in need of safe shelter, Hubbard House offers warm beds, hot meals, and personal amenities. We also provide counseling and group support for both adults and their children. Victims receive services from a victim advocate, who helps with public resources and housing assistance, while empowering the survivor to lead the path forward. A court advocate, Injunction for Protection attorney, and job coach are also available. Shelter and services are always free to victims, and the goals are always the same: victim safety and empowerment.

Outreach Center

For victims who do not need shelter, free supportive services are available at our Outreach Center, by appointment or by stopping in during business hours. Like shelter, survivors can take part in individual and group counseling and get help relating to Injunctions for Protection, court cases, employment needs, and housing support.

Children’s Services

Children receive special support at Hubbard House. In-shelter little ones are cared for in our Children’s Learning Center, and school-aged children study with certified teachers in small classes. In addition to providing counseling, group support, and domestic violence prevention programs for in-shelter youth, Hubbard House provides services for children and teens at the Outreach Center and in the community. 

​Community-Based Intervention

Hubbard House has many partnerships, to both support the needs of victims of domestic violence and to create social change in our community. The Hubbard House-led Domestic Violence Intervention Project works through the year to review how domestic violence cases are handled in the court system, how survivors are supported in these cases, and how batterers are held accountable. We are a cornerstone of the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team that identifies and addresses trends seen in domestic violence-related deaths. Hubbard House also leads and partners in local and regional task forces, to address community challenges, resource needs, and related areas.

Creating social change also means taking our awareness efforts directly into the community. Hubbard House maintains a staff speaker’s bureau and survivor speaker’s bureau to educate businesses, social clubs, religious organizations, and others. That education begins early in life as well, with our primary prevention program that provides age-appropriate education to children and teens.

Public Support

Each year, Hubbard House serves thousands of victims of domestic violence — adults and children — and receives generous support from the community. Nearly half of our funding and donation support each year comes from caring and concerned individuals and organizations. This demonstrates that people trust the agency and its promise: Donated dollars are carefully managed and stay local, helping victims and their children.