GREEN COVE SPRINGS — Quigley House selected Julia Edwards as its newest executive on Jan. 8. A Jacksonville native, Edwards secured many leadership positions throughout her career. Helping those in crisis, she says, has always been her calling.

“It’s who I am,” she said. “It’s just a part of me, which makes this work really important to me.”

However, Edwards said her path to becoming the top CEO of one of Clay County’s largest nonprofit organizations was not always linear. It took years of dedication and perseverance. Edwards’ leadership journey started in 2018 when she became the first in her family to receive a university degree after being a homeschool educator for more than 15 years. While obtaining a Bachelor’s degree from Florida State College in Jacksonville, she started working for the 4-H Youth Organization as a Senior Administrator.

“I really loved the work I was doing there, but I knew I had a higher calling. After graduating in 2020, I applied for some positions, and that’s when I got hired by the Salvation Army,” she said.

Edwards stepped into the new role as Director of Social Services, overseeing the daily operations of their transitional housing shelter while working on a second degree from Tulane University’s first dual master’s program in social work and disaster resiliency leadership. She plans to graduate this December.

“Very quickly, I knew this was where I wanted to be, to be able to help others and provide for them at times in their life when they can’t,” Edwards said. “So being in an organization like the Quigley House where we are helping those in crisis and providing a safe place for them because they don’t have one just means a lot to me.”

As CEO, Edwards hopes to bring more awareness to the issue of domestic violence and educate the community about the prevalence of abuse. She also hopes to reconnect with faith-based organizations.

“Quigley House has gone through a lot of transitions,” she said, “but I love the challenge of rebuilding and improving an organization. And so, with our staffing and everyone having that same vision and goal, it’s been rewarding to see everyone come together through the challenges we’ve had and still maintain that passion and love of helping others and providing that safe space.

“For me, I want everyone in the Clay County community to know that Quigley House is a safe place for them to go, that they can have a place to start over, and there are wonderful people here whose passion and goal in life is to help them get back on their feet.”

Quigley House is a dual-certified domestic violence and sexual violence center for both men and women. The nonprofit provides resources and services to those who have either experienced intimate partner violence or have been sexually assaulted.

 “If we receive a phone call from someone in imminent danger, we immediately start safety planning to get them to our shelter,” Edwards said.

The shelter is an undisclosed location for the safety of both staff and residents.

“We have 46 beds, including single and family rooms for anyone in imminent danger. We also have a 24-hour hotline they can call into, as well as a sexual assault center,” Edwards said. Quigley House also offers services such as crisis counseling, housing services, financial assistance and forensic sexual assault exams free of charge. “So while they’re in a shelter, they are staying free of charge, and we can, through our generous funders and donors, provide everything that they need from food to transportation, hygiene products, anything they need to help get themselves back up,” she said.

Edwards said it is entirely up to survivors to stay one night or six weeks. Services at Quigley House are building blocks that empower survivors to rebuild their lives and help establish their sense of control by giving them the resources and information necessary to make their own decisions.

“Sometimes we work with people who don’t want to leave but just need help navigating what is happening to them,” she said. “Our advocates are trained to have those conversations with them to give them the available options and resources. It’s all about empowering the survivor so they can make their own choices.”

Survivors of domestic violence deserve safety. While securing safe housing is often an essential step on their journey, Edwards hopes to educate community members about the prevalence of abuse, how it happens, and how to identify red flags.

“According to the American Psychological Association, dating violence is more common than people think, especially among teens and young adults. As many as 19% of teens experience sexual or physical dating violence, about half face stalking or harassment, and as many as 65% report being psychologically abused. Quigley Houses’ outreach program is designed to help teens identify red flags and equip them with the information and skills they need to choose healthy relationships. Edwards will also focus on prevention.

“We really are trying to get into our schools so that we can start at that youth level of being able to teach about awareness so we can try to break the cycles of abuse that are happening,” Edwards said.

Edwards hopes to boost fundraising efforts to hire more prevention positions for this important work.

“They’re prevention coordinators, the people out in the community doing those educational pieces,” she said. “I would love to see us be able to raise our donorships so that we can bring those positions back because I believe that that’s a fundamental piece of being out in the community and teaching those about awareness of domestic violence and sexual assault and how to prevent it.”

If you would like to support Quigley House, visit their website at quigleyhouse.org.

“We are always looking for monetary donations, recurring donations, practical donations and volunteers,” Edwards said. “We have all kinds of projects available, from landscaping to upgrading our pet center, to sorting donations to just having everything organized so that when survivors come into the shelter, it’s a smooth, calm process for them and we can provide the things they need.”

Other volunteer opportunities include tabling events, wellness fairs and attending several educational events throughout the year at the Orange Park Mall to target teens and young adults.

Fill out an application/volunteer form on the Quigley House website to get involved.

To learn more about Quigley House, visit their website or attend their Open House on Friday, July 26.

“We are having an Open House (at 3373 U.S. Highway 17 in Green Cove Springs) from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m to welcome the community and our friends and partners, as well as host an opportunity for our community partners to meet us and see the work we have been doing here,” Edwards said.