In 1976 founding members conducted an investigation of domestic violence in Marin demonstrating that the police departments have NO records of family violence in Marin.
MAWS receives its tax-exempt status as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and began a 24-hour hotline that received 268 calls the first year.
Short-term emergency housing was coordinated through private homes and the Marin Housing Center and in 1977 MAWS opened the doors of its first shelter for abused women and their children. One year later, MAWS purchased a facility with a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
In 1980, MAWS secured office space in central San Rafael. By 1983, MAWS personnel totaled 10 full-time and five part-time positions.
In 1980, MAWS began one of the nation’s first Men’s Programs to re-educate men to stop their violent behavior and activated a men’s hotline to deter men from engaging in violence.
In 1983, MAWS purchased a 10-unit complex to establish one of the nation’s first transitional housing complexes for battered women and their children.
In 1985, MAWS received funding from the California Office of Criminal Justice Planning to develop a curriculum called “Relationship Abuse Prevention Program” and to create a video, “When Love Hurts.’’ Both were one of the first in the nation to address the prevention of dating abuse for high school students.
MAWS’ programs and services received national television and radio coverage. MAWS’ Men’s Program was highlighted in a BBC documentary.
1987-1997
MAWS began to work with the national domestic violence organizations to draft legislation to protect the rights of abused women and their children.
In 1992, Transforming Communities: Creating Safety and Justice for Women and Girls was started. This model program works with the community to end domestic violence through new prevention programs.
In 1994, MAWS received $100,000 worth of pro bono services to create an educational video “Beyond Awareness to Action: Ending Abuse.”
MAWS coauthored and helped pass the Federal Violence Against Women Act in 1994.
In 1996, MAWS received the Special Achievement Innovations Award in Maternal and Child Health sponsored by the Maternal and Child Health Branch of the California Department of Health Services.
The Community Oriented Policing Services Project (COPS) was created in 1997 in partnership with the Marin County Sheriff’s Department to implement a more coordinated criminal justice response to batterers.
MAWS received the 1997 National Marshall Award for Excellence in Violence Prevention.
In 1997, California Department of Health Services selected MAWS to establish Transforming Communities Technical Assistance Training (TC-TAT), a statewide technical assistance and training net work to foster community prevention.
1998-2007
By 1998, MAWS employed more than 25 people and the organization’s operating budget approached $1.9 million. Annually more than 5,000 women, children, and men were served by MAWS, and thousands more through community work.
In 1999, through funding from the Office on Violence Against Women, securing funding from The Grants to Encourage Arrest Program, MAWS initiated the Women’s Community Advocacy Project (WCAP) which included a funded partnership with the District Attorney’s Office.
In 2000-2001, MAWS purchased and renovated the 16,000 sq. ft. A Street location. After moving into it in January 2002, the location was officially named the Center for Safety, Justice and Equality. Space is rented to four other “like minded organizations.”
Also in 2001, MAWS launched Womankind, a 52 week educational program certified by Marin County Probation Department for women to learn to stop their violence.
From 2000-2003, the Healthy and Equal Relating curriculum was developed, test-piloted and launched. At least 78% of all the teen participants did something new to respond to and or prevent verbal and or physical abuse as a result of the information provided.
In 2003 after a ten year collaboration with decommissioned Hamilton Air Force Base, MAWS established 10 units of transitional housing which doubled MAWS capacity to house victims and their families.
In 2003, MAWS gained national attention as the recipient of the Mary Byron Foundation’s Celebrating Solutions Award, honored for the Mankind Program and its work addressing the root cause of domestic violence.
In 2005, MAWS cofounded and cochaired bringing the Respect for All Collaborative (RAC) to Marin County Middle Schools. This collaboration of nonprofits works with anti-bullying and violence prevention strategies and programs.
Also in 2005, MAWS formed Athletes as Allies, with the National Football League Player’s Association Regional Director, to train Marin County high school coaches and athletes in our Healthy and Equal Relating curriculum.
In a two year span, TC-TAT provided training and support to over 1000 faith leaders and prevention advocates statewide, conducted trainings and technical assistance to 14 domestic violence state coalitions, and reached over 200 people in 8 trainings statewide through the Preventing Violence Against Women with Disabilities project.
Mankind statistics show that 77% of our graduates on probation do not get re-arrested for domestic violence 4 years after graduation. These are some of the best statistics in the country for Batterer’s Intervention Programs.
By 2007, MAWS has directly supported over 130,000 women and 28,000 men through their programs, with a budget of $3.2 million and staffed by 45 employees.
2008-2017
After MAWS’ 30th Anniversary celebration, the organization furthered its goal to increase community engagement to end domestic violence, now and forever:
In 2009, MAWS received a three-year Recovery Act grant for Second Step to increase economic empowerment for transitional housing participants.
In 2010, MAWS adopted a new name, Center for Domestic Peace (C4DP), to better reflect the depth and breadth of the organization as a whole.
Also in 2010, C4DP spearheaded formation of the 19-member Bay Area Domestic Violence Shelter Collaboration to have a larger regional impact. The Collaboration has gone on to implement several innovative projects, and C4DP remains the backbone organization. In 2015, the Collaboration received the Revolutionary Advocate Award from the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence.
In 2011, C4DP founded Marin Youth Services. C4DP and its partner Huckleberry Youth Programs (HYP) received three years of funding from the federal Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) to develop comprehensive, age-appropriate direct intervention and prevention services for youth and young adults (ages 13-24) impacted by dating/domestic violence. Marin Youth Services includes a youth hotline, as well as high school and college youth advisory committees that produce prevention campaigns to end dating abuse.
In 2012, C4DP launched a Facebook app and outreach campaign, “DV. It’s Not OK,” to promote healthy relationships and engage the community in committing to the Individual Peace Agreement.
In 2013, C4DP and Marin County District Attorney’s Office celebrated 15 years of living up to the promise of a Coordinated Community Response (CCR) to Domestic Violence, in partnership with Marin County government, criminal justice system, and institutional partners. The CCR Network produced more than 40 changes and additions in policies and responses to domestic violence in Marin County.
In 2013, C4DP completed the first phase of the shelter rehabilitation and upgrade project, making it a welcoming, ADA-compliant home with 20 beds.
In 2014, C4DP received Marin Democratic Party’s Alex Forman Peace Award. While the award is usually given to honorees outspoken against foreign wars, C4DP was selected because peace among nations requires starting with the environment surrounding children and families.
In 2014, C4DP launched the Children and Youth Division. C4DP was one of 9 to receive funding from OVW to develop services for children exposed to domestic violence. C4DP created “In This Together,” a group therapy program that served 154 women and children in the program’s first year.
In 2015, C4DP won the Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership’s Heart of Marin Award for Excellence in Nonprofit Leadership.
In 2015, C4DP started the final phase of the shelter upgrade project. With a generous gift from Dominican Sisters of San Rafael, and $185,000 from community donors, C4DP will convert office space into 10 additional beds and build an office studio for staff. In 2017, the emergency shelter will have grown to 30 beds, increasing bed space by almost 50% over 5 years.
In 2016, C4DP expanded the number of individuals reached through training and outreach by 31% to more than 14,000 individuals in Marin.
By 2017, C4DP has responded to the needs of more than 181,000 individuals affected by domestic violence, as well as more than 29,000 men who have been violent. The budget has grown to $3.4 million, with 45 employees and more than 100 volunteers working to create domestic peace in Marin and beyond.
2018-2022
By 2018, our long-standing strategic priority to increase equity and access for marginalized communities including adults and youth of color, LGBTQI+, non-English speakers, those geographically isolated, and older adults resulted in documented increased access for these populations.
2018: Created a Southern Marin Community Engagement Liaison in Marin City to increase C4DP presence in the Black community and to ensure Black survivors have access to culturally responsive services.
2018: Created Champion Men’s Zone (CMZ) to reach young men and boys, with focus on Black and Latinx populations. In 2022, 74 sessions on healthy masculinity provided to 33 young men. In total, 80 youth participated in activism.
2019: Voces de Cambio, a group of volunteer survivors, received the 2019 Leaders of the North Bay Award for their outreach to underserved, underrepresented communities.
2020: COVID-19 challenged C4DP to pivot to remote services while responding to escalating domestic violence during the pandemic. Remote services provide an unexpected benefit to survivors, making services and DVROs (Domestic Violence Restraining Order) more accessible.
2020: Voces de Cambio donated nearly 450 volunteer hours to launch Tu Voz, Mi Voz, a bilingual video campaign to increase outreach to victims during COVID. By the end of 2022, these videos were viewed 3,287 times in over 18 countries.
2020: Voces de Cambio receives California Partnership to End Domestic Violence’s Equity Award
2021: Launched strategic effort to increase visibility and access for those experiencing domestic violence in geographically isolated locations, including West Marin.
2021: Awarded a multi-year national demonstration grant from the Administration for Child and Families to evaluate the success of In This Together (ITT). Hired Dominican University’s Global Public Health Department to evaluate the program. In 2022, 238 parents and 359 children received ITT and other services from C4DP’s Children, Youth, and Community Prevention Department.
2021: Received the Readers’ Choice Award for Best Nonprofit in Marin from the Pacific Sun Newspaper.
2022: Translated 104 pages of C4DP’s English website into Spanish, launching one of the only culturally relevant and accurately translated domestic violence services websites. More than 2,600 pageviews occurred in the first five months.
2022: Voces de Cambio Volunteers receive Champions for Safety Award at the Immigrant Heritage Marin award ceremony in San Rafeal.
2022: Voted Best of Marin: Gala/Fundraiser by Marin Magazine readers.
2022: Retained a renowned criminologist to study the past 9 years of domestic violence related calls to law enforcement in Marin, revealing a 55% decrease, which is statistically relevant as this trend was not seen elsewhere in California. A correlation can be made to C4DP’s partnership with law enforcement and the development of the Pocket Card, a simple tool used for uniform response to domestic violence calls.
2022: Assisted over 240,000 women, children and men impacted by domestic violence since its founding in 1977. The 24/7 English/Spanish hotline receives over 8,000 calls annually and the annual budget has grown to more than $5M with a staff of 47.
