Three Generations Story

Early in his tenure at The Center, Executive Director Matt Huckabay was sitting in his office when he heard the front doorbell chime.  Being new, he got up from his desk to see who arrived. He watched as a young mom holding a newborn baby walked into the office to fill out the new client packet so she could receive services as a domestic violence victim.

Accompanying this young mom was her mother and her grandmother, each of whom had been victims of domestic violence. In one family, here stood three generations of victims. Matt looked at the baby being held so lovingly in her mother’s arms and asked, “who is responsible for making sure this baby doesn’t grow up and become the fourth-generation victim of domestic violence?”

In an instant, he answered himself: “It’s my responsibility, it is this organization’s responsibility, it is our community’s responsibility.” At that moment, Matt realized each of us and all of us have a responsibility to ensure each child grows up in a home free from abuse.

That experience fueled a fire — the desire to create programs and services to treat more than the individual in crisis. Matt was determined to create programs and services necessary to ensure the cycle of violence will be broken once and for all. He was energized by the promise that family violence will not be the legacy passed on to the next generation.

Matt searched during his early years at The Center to find services and programs that went beyond resolving the immediate crisis and into long-term healing. Unfortunately, that search was fruitless.

While continuing to provide crisis intervention services, The Center began investing in developing pathways for change. This included clearly defined short, intermediate, and long-term outcomes.  Client assessments and program evaluations were created, outcomes, including program efficacy, were implemented, and decision-making began to be informed by data analytics.

As part of this process, survivors met weekly for over two years providing insights critical to creating groundbreaking programs and services, which would be truly helpful to helping individuals and families and stopping the cycle of generational violence.

Today, The Center is a leader in data-driven programs to create behavioral change. It is recognized at the local, state, and national level for its innovation and transformation including the use of data to demonstrate the effectiveness and for assisting clients to achieve real behavior change, end the cycle of violence and improve lives. By developing comprehensive training, the team at The Center is positioning offer and execute these educational resources to like-missioned organizations in California and across the nation.