Family Peace Center: A New Model for Healing
The new Family Peace Center of Washington County is a 64,000-square-foot, purpose-built facility that will serve more than 10,000 people each year. For the first time in the United States, a single center will bring together domestic and sexual violence services, child abuse medical care, law enforcement, housing support, mental health care, and a trauma-informed preschool all under one roof. It is a transformative model grounded in prevention, intervention, and long-term healing. At the heart of this vision is a deep understanding of what survivors, especially children, need to thrive.
Healing Children and Breaking Cycles
Adelante Mujeres is proud to partner in this effort by helping design and implement trauma-informed early learning classrooms within the center. These classrooms will provide early intervention for children who have experienced or witnessed violence. With decades of experience working alongside Latine families and early childhood education excellence, we will be able to offer care and a pathway forward for the families we serve.
We plan to have three classrooms: one for babies and toddlers, and two for preschoolers. Our early childhood education program offers culturally-responsive, age appropriate, bilingual (Spanish and English) childcare and education. We provide relational and strength-based family engagement, with a strong focus on social and emotional development and kindergarten readiness. At the Family Peace Center, our classrooms will provide trauma-informed care. Our staff will be trained and supported to offer safety, continuity, and nurturing relationships with the children. The classrooms will be healing-centered and healing engaged with intentional environmentsl and strategic curricula.
This collaboration makes the Family Peace Center the first known facility in the country to embed a trauma-informed early childhood program directly into its multidisciplinary response to violence. It is a powerful step toward breaking generational cycles of harm and nurturing resilience from the very beginning.
A Community Effort
“The Family Peace Center is the result of listening deeply to survivors and responding with action,” said Rachel Schutz, FPCWC Executive Director. “It’s also a testament to what’s possible when committed partners come together around a shared vision. We’re especially proud to be partnering with Adelante Mujeres so that we can embed early childhood healing directly into this ecosystem of care, with a goal of preventing violence from cycling through future generations. We’ll be able to offer everything survivors need under one roof, with dignity, safety, and a supportive community.”
That spirit of collaboration runs throughout the center. Twenty-two partner agencies will work side-by-side to provide holistic, coordinated services—from medical care and legal advocacy to housing support and economic assistance. When systems come together like this, barriers are reduced, trust is strengthened, and outcomes improve.
The space itself reflects this commitment to healing. Designed with guidance from the VOICES Committee, which is a survivor-led advisory group, every detail has been shaped by lived experience. Even the building’s three floors carry meaning: Hope, Healing, and Safety.
A Space for Healing
At the community grand opening on April 30, 2026, guests experienced firsthand what this vision looks like in practice. They walked through spaces designed for care and connection, met the organizations working in partnership, and witnessed how seamless and supportive the experience can be for survivors.
In her remarks, Rachel Schutz described the center as “a physical expression of a commitment to something bigger than ourselves,” and “a love letter to those who never asked to be a survivor.”
That love is visible in every corner. It is evident in the private counseling rooms and safe play areas to specialized support for youth experiencing human trafficking. It is noticeable in the integration of services, in the intentional design, and in the shared belief that every person deserves safety and the opportunity to heal.
Centering Survivors
The need for this work has never been more urgent. Since 2020, the number of survivors seeking services through the Family Justice Center of Washington County has increased by more than 300%. This new facility responds to that reality with innovation, compassion, and scale.