The Center for Great Expectations (CGE) began in 1998 in a two-bedroom house with a single bathroom donated by Immaculate Conception parish in Somerville, New Jersey. For ten years, we remained in this location, meeting the needs of 12 expectant mothers on an annual basis, and growing our understanding of how best to provide dignified and compassionate services to this vulnerable population. During the early years, it quickly became clear that the need for safe housing with supportive services was greater than our space could accommodate and required a more comprehensive treatment approach than we were able to provide in Somerville. Thus, in 2008, we raised $4.2 million and built two residential facilities – one for adults and their children needing long-term treatment for substance use and mental health disorders; the other for pregnant and parenting adolescents with co-occurring mental health disorders and their children.

As our understanding of how best to meet the needs of the mothers and children that we served continued to evolve, so, too, did our mission and our continuum of care. From 2008 to 2018, CGE experienced exponential growth, including the development of: Katy’s Place, Child Development Center; Roots To Recovery, outpatient treatment program, providing behavioral health and substance-use treatment for men and women; Supportive Housing department, including 28-units for at-risk families throughout Somerset and Middlesex Counties; S.T.A.R.T., an in-home treatment program for pregnant or parenting mothers living with opioid addiction.

CGE now serves over 600 women, men, and children on an annual basis. Many of these individuals are homeless or economically marginalized, pregnant or parenting, or living with mental health or substance use disorders. In our continued growth and development, we have remained steadfast in our commitment to provide dignified and comprehensive care in an effort to break the generational cycle of abuse, homelessness, and substance use.