JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Women’s Center of Jacksonville is preparing to expand services into Clay County while facing growing demand for counseling, rape recovery, forensic exams and prevention education across Northeast Florida.
CEO Allishia Bauman, five months into the job, says the organization operates a 24/7 rape crisis hotline and is the only forensic exam provider serving the counties in its coverage area. The center also provides free mental-health counseling and community education.
“We are really, we’re needing more support to be able to provide more support in our community for folks who need it,” Bauman said. She said the organization currently has wait lists in several areas, including counseling, and is working to make services more accessible to people who face transportation, scheduling or awareness barriers.
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The planned Clay County expansion comes as the area continues to grow. Bauman said the center has been meeting with law-enforcement agencies across the county and described those conversations as collaborative and welcoming.
The organization has also received a state appropriation and a $500,000 matching gift from Jacksonville philanthropist and artist Brette Petway. Bauman said the gift is helping attract additional flexible funding that can be used as needs emerge.
Bauman’s connection to the work is personal. She said she was forced out of her home at a young age and that people in Jacksonville helped provide housing, transportation and other support.
“This community really stepped up for me in ways that they didn’t have to, but they did,” Bauman said. “And so it’s exactly why I do what I do and who I am and why I show up the way that I do is to give in that same way that was given to me.”
She said the goal is not simply expansion, but sustainable growth that protects the quality of services. In the coming years, Bauman said success would mean reaching more people, reducing counseling wait lists and maintaining a trusted place for survivors and others in crisis to turn.
Businesses can support the Women’s Center through donations, volunteer work and employee wellness or prevention training. People seeking support can begin by contacting the organization’s 24/7 hotline, according to Bauman.
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