Hubbard House hosts Barbara Campbell Memorial Breakfast
The Hubbard House hosts the Barbara Ann Campbell Memorial Breakfast on Wednesday, October 12, at 7:30 a.m. at the Jacksonville’s Hyatt Regency. The annual event, now in its 28th year, raises awareness and funds for victims and survivors of domestic violence.
Serving Duval and Baker Counties, the full service center provides domestic violence victims “safety, empowerment and social change” along with efforts to ensure that “every relationship is violence free.”
Protection begins by calling the 24/7 Domestic Violence Hotline (904) 354-3114 or texting (904) 210-3698. Calls are monitored by trained advocates; conversations remain confidential.
The Hubbard House Outreach Center, a 116-bed state-of-the-art facility located on Beach Boulevard, provides victims and their children under the vein of domestic violence wrap-around shelter. Services include counseling, relocation assistance, safety planning and group support. Children and teens receive care and counseling through the organization’s Children’s Therapeutic Learning Center and Community Outreach Centers.
The Hubbard House also works in tandem within the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Children and Families. Advocates embedded within JSO and its officers survey domestic violence police reports daily to reach out to protect those in immediate danger. The Department of Children and Families also provides advocates to families threatened by domestic violence.
The Hubbard House touts impressive statistics within its 45 year history. To date, they’ve answered 108,750 hotline calls and sheltered more than 47,000 survivors and their children. The Hubbard House measures their accomplishments in terms of “suffering spared, lives liberated and tragic deaths avoided.”
Earlier this month, The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, the City of Jacksonville, the State Attorney’s Office, Mayor Lenny Curry, and state and local law enforcement officials joined forces with CEOs from The Hubbard House, The Quigley House, The Betty Griffin Center and Micha’s Place - local domestic violence shelters - at their annual Domestic Violence Awareness Month press conference reiterating their commitment to eradicate domestic violence.
“Domestic Violence has no boundaries and early intervention can prevent escalation,” said Jackson Short, Director of Investigations and Homeland Security for the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
Khary Gaynor, Deputy Director of the Special Victims Unit, 4th Circuit State Attorney’s Office, noted the alarming percentages of guns used in domestic violence murders. For the past 25 years, firearms accounted for 58% of Duval County’s domestic violence homicides. By 2021, the number had increased to 71%. Last year in Duval County, 18 women were murdered by a firearm in a domestic violence situation. Twelve of the 18 were in intimate partner relationships. One suspect took his own life.
Dr. Gail Patin, Hubbard House CEO, launched the organization’s #Here For You campaign at the press conference by addressing these gruesome statistics.
“Violence carried out by a person who was supposed to love and care for their partner but instead, instilled pain and fear and ended their lives,” she said. “I encourage everyone to pledge no more. No more sitting by and hoping for things get better.”
Patin underscored the importance of supporting survivors as “real people living in our community” by saying, “I am here for you.”
“It’s a message to survivors that says you are not alone, " she continued. “It’s a message to our community that creates social change... to support violence free relationships.”
Dr. Patin also introduced a guest speaker Latoya Calhoun.
Click on the link to hear Latoya Calhoun’s story of her sister LaShonda, who was killed by an abusive husband.
LaToya Calhoun’s Domestic Violence Story for her sister LaShonda
Dr. Patin is no stranger to advocacy. Prior to her position as CEO of the Hubbard House, she founded Nassau County’s Micah’s Place and served on boards and committees with the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Jacksonville’s Safety First Project.
So, what began in 1970 as a group of women who dedicated themselves to gender-based violence has grown into the Hubbard House, an organization that serves 5,000 domestic violence victims and their children every year.
The Barbara Ann Memorial Breakfast is supported by a grant from the Delores Barr Weaver Forever Event Fund established in 2015.
Donations can be made online at https://www.hubbardhouse.org/neededmost or can be mailed via check to: Hubbard House, Inc.; Attn: Development; P.O. Box 4909; Jacksonville, FL., 32201
