The Woodlands Serving Central Ohio, Inc.

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The Woodlands Serving Central Ohio, Inc. Trauma Informed Outpatient Mental Health Therapy
The Center For New Beginnings- Domestic Violence Shelter and Support
Outreach Programming

Since 1965 The Woodlands has provided quality professional services to those in need, regardless of their ability to pay. The Woodlands, a private, non-profit organization, provides comprehensive prevention, education, and treatment services to residents of Licking County and surrounding counties. The Woodlands is dynamic organization that serves to address the diverse needs of individuals and families in our community. The Woodlands is organized distinct direct service departments:

Outreach Department
Individual & Family Therapy
The Center for New Beginnings Shelter & Services

In honor of October being Domestic Violence Awareness Month, day 5 of sharing the history of The Center for New Beginnin...
10/16/2026

In honor of October being Domestic Violence Awareness Month, day 5 of sharing the history of The Center for New Beginnings!

In 1998, Licensed Social Worker Tricia Hufford became the case manager for The Center for New Beginnings. Fresh into social work, she poured her passion, drive, determination, compassion, and skill into the work she did for the shelter, and the survivors she served. In 2004, succeeding former director Tim Gano, Tricia became the Program Director of New Beginnings. People often refer to New Beginnings as “the house that Flo built.” New Beginnings became the house that Tricia strengthened, grew, maintained, and protected.

In 2005, with the assistance of startup money form the Allstate Foundation, New Beginnings launched EXPECT RESPECT, our very own teen dating violence education program for Licking County high school students. This was a full-on effort to educate youth on the signs of dating violence and unhealthy relationships in the hope to break the cycle of violence in our community. With the support of United Way of Licking County and Mental Health and Recovery for Licking and Knox Counties, Expect Respect continued to evolve and be taught for several years. Hundreds of students received the education annually in multiple county schools. Unfortunately, due to changes in prevention and limitations placed on schools regarding approved programs, Expect Respect sunsetted as a program in 2026.

In 2007, in an effort to “right the ship” after some troubling times within The Woodlands, Tricia Hufford became the Executive Director in addition to still being the Director of New Beginnings. Despite the heavy weight of the responsibility of not one but two locations and teams of staff, The Center for New Beginnings remained a top priority and remained in steady and capable hands.

In October of 2013, New Beginnings celebrated 30 years as a provider of shelter and services to victims of domestic violence in Licking County. The event was a special tribute to Flo Gibson, founder of New Beginnings.

In 2016, New Beginnings began to show some wear and tear. With hundreds of survivors served each year, some big repairs were needed. Thanks to Ohio Attorney General Victims of Crime Funding, the shelter was outfitted with new carpet, as well as a brand-new roof. Coordinating repairs in a house full of people is no easy task!

Check back here tomorrow for the next part of the history of The Center for New Beginnings!

Today staff wore purple for Domestic Violence Awareness Day, to honor survivors, to remember those that we have lost, an...
10/15/2026

Today staff wore purple for Domestic Violence Awareness Day, to honor survivors, to remember those that we have lost, and to represent all those who tirelessly advocate and do this very challenging work. We are grateful for our staff, community partners, volunteers, donors, and helpers of all kinds that help make the work happen! 💜

In honor of October being Domestic Violence Awareness Month, day 4 of sharing the origin of The Center for New Beginning...
10/15/2026

In honor of October being Domestic Violence Awareness Month, day 4 of sharing the origin of The Center for New Beginnings!

In 1996 a $1 million dollar campaign was on track to build a new three story shelter with 10,000 square feet of space to replace the current four bedroom house in newark. Frank Murphy, president of The Murphy Group served as campaign chair.

By August 1996 a $100,000 gift from Longaberger was credited with putting the campaign past the half way point.

By October of 1996, $800,000 of the million-dollar goal and a building site in the downtown area had been secured.

Groundbreaking took place in March of 1997. 200 people were in attendance. Nearly 200 businesses, groups, and individual's pledged to the campaign.

In October 1997, over 300 people showed up for the ribbon cutting and unveiling of The Center for New Beginnings Shelter and Services.

Come back tomorrow for the next part of the origin story of The Center For New Beginnings!

Don't forget to wear purple tomorrow in support of domestic violence awareness! Show your support for all those survivor...
10/14/2026

Don't forget to wear purple tomorrow in support of domestic violence awareness! Show your support for all those survivors who have bravely left, those who are considering leaving, and to honor those who we have lost.

In honor of October being domestic violence awareness month, day 3 of sharing the history of New Beginnings! Be sure to ...
10/14/2026

In honor of October being domestic violence awareness month, day 3 of sharing the history of New Beginnings! Be sure to check out the first two parts of the story to follow along!

New Beginnings continued to help women and children and make their name in the community known as a safe haven for those dealing with violence in their relationships.

A new group emerged calling themselves Friends of the Shelter. They held a shower for New Beginnings. Friends brought food, paper products, kitchen, bath and bedding items to help stock the shelter. Friends also started an annual mailing appeal to request cash donations to New Beginnings. That appeal continued and grew in strength. 43 years later Friends are still strong and raise approximately $20,000 annually to support New Beginnings.

By May of 1984 New Beginnings had established itself as a domestic violence resource in Licking County. The ability to share with the local news about the cycle of violence and describe what domestic abuse looks like was a great way to let those in the community know that what they might be experiencing is abuse and there is someone to go for help. Knowing the resources available helped to fight against the tactic of isolation.

New Beginnings has continually served victims of violence from all walks of life, all genders, socio-economic classes, races and cultures. Our mission and dedication to treating survivors with dignity and respect has not changed since our founding in 1983.

By August of 1984 New Beginnings had sheltered 200 women and children. Women supported by New Beginnings share their stories of abuse and turning their lives around through the support of the shelter.
Winter of 1994, Flo Gibson, director of Family Counseling Services for 20 years announced her retirement. Flo is best known for her legacy of advocacy for victims of domestic violence and opening the first and only domestic violence shelter in Licking County.

In April of 1991, a task force was formed to create a countywide policy that calls for all police departments to adopt a pro-arrest policy for domestic violence incidents.

Stay tuned for the next piece of the story tomorrow!

In honor of : Continuing the New Beginnings Story. Be sure to check out yesterday's post for the beginning of the story...
10/13/2026

In honor of : Continuing the New Beginnings Story. Be sure to check out yesterday's post for the beginning of the story!

Support for a safe shelter continued to trickle in from individuals and community organizations. In the early 80’s among one of the first community groups to provide financial support was the local members of the Zonta Club of Newark.

Two years after the initial meeting in Springfield, Oren Henry, a board member for Family Counseling Services, wrote a grant for the agency in collaboration with the city of Newark.

The grant was approved and the money was used to pay for a house at 39 North First Street and the house to the south of it. The grant also provided money to tear down the house to the south in order to make room for a playground for children who would be staying at the shelter. Flo was happy to partner with the city on this project, as she knew that would ensure all the remodeling which was to take place at the shelter would be up to code. See less

Those involved with the shelter had to beg and borrow to get the furniture they needed to enable the shelter to open, Churches in the area were invited to adopt one of the four bedrooms to help get them decorated and furnished. Future Homemakers of America collected books to donate to the shelter.

See you here tomorrow for the next part of the origin story of The Center For New Beginnings!

10/12/2026

Licking Memorial Health Systems, in partnership with Coconis Furniture and the Ohio Breast and Cervical Cancer Project (BCCP), is proud to offer free mammograms for those who qualify. Schedule an appointment by calling (220) 564-4722. Walk-ins are also accepted every Wednesday, no appointment needed, at the Diagnostic Imaging Center location. To receive your free mammogram, visit https://qrfy.io/p/16naJrTIOV and complete the registration by October 31. Mammograms must be completed by December 31.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness month and to celebrate we wanted to tell you the story of New Beginnings. Over th...
10/12/2026

October is Domestic Violence Awareness month and to celebrate we wanted to tell you the story of New Beginnings. Over the next several days, we will post a part of the journey that is The Center for New Beginnings.

And it all began with a lady named Flo...

Florence Gibson, a counselor with the then named, Family Counseling Services, began to recognize the patterns of abuse in the local women she served in the 1970’s. After attending a meeting in Springfield, Ohio to discuss a topic called domestic violence, Flo learned that the syndrome that was not just happening to women in Licking County, but to women throughout the country.

After Flo learned about the issue of Domestic violence it became apparent that emergency housing was needed for those who had to leave their unsafe relationships. A small grant from Denison University assisted with providing motel rooms for those needing emergency assistance. The cabins at Camp Agape located outside of Granville became available for a short period of time for women victims of domestic violence to stay. Security was an issue, so a more permanent and safe location was needed.

As the awareness for domestic violence gained momentum, support for survivors also followed. Denison University was one of the first supporters. Denison continues to support New Beginnings to this day, with volunteers, donations, and students completing internships and research around DV.

In the late 70’s and early 80’s more and more awareness and education was being given to the nature and understanding of violence in relationships. A local newspaper editorial addresses what is now understood as a “cycle” in domestic violence and the many effects it has on family members...

Stay tuned to follow the rest of the story!

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10/10/2026

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Shouting a HUGE thank you today to the wonderful women of The Buckeye Rug Hooking Guild! For the third year in a row as ...
10/10/2026

Shouting a HUGE thank you today to the wonderful women of The Buckeye Rug Hooking Guild! For the third year in a row as part of their annual fall gathering, this incredibly talented and generous group of ladies held a food drive to benefit our program The Center For New Beginnings! With the rising cost of groceries, a gift like this helps replenish our pantry of our most popular items! Thank you for your support!

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73 N 6th Street
Newark, OH
43055

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