Next Step Domestic Violence Project

We believe every individual has a right to live in safety and without fear of abuse.
Although the world has changed significantly over the last 40 years, we continue to honor the visionary work of the women who ignited what became known as the “battered women’s movement” in the 1970s. They knew domestic abuse was not a personal problem, but rather a violation of civil and human rights. It was out of that important movement that NextStep emerged.

We started in 1984 as a satellite office of Spruce Run Association, the first domestic violence project in Maine and the third in the U.S. Six years later, a concerned group of Hancock County residents put into motion their plan to serve victims and survivors of domestic abuse in their own communities as “The Next Step Domestic Violence Project of Hancock County.”

In 2004, we broadened our reach to include our neighbors in Washington County, changing our name to “Next Step Domestic Violence Project.” Currently we use the simplified name “NextStep” to reflect our commitment to victims and survivors not just of domestic violence, but also of other types of interpersonal violence and abuse.

For more than 25 years, NextStep has been leading Downeast Maine’s efforts to end domestic violence and abuse. Throughout Washington and Hancock Counties—from Eastport to Topsfield, Bar Harbor to Bucksport—we are on a mission to end domestic violence in our homes and in our communities.

Nationally, 1 in 5 women and 1 in 7 men will experience physical violence by an intimate partner during their lifetime, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Our partners at Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence report that a domestic violence assault is reported to Maine law enforcement every 2 hours and 5 minutes, and in 2017 these assaults comprised more than 40% of the total assaults reported.