History

The Creative Village Family Centre dream began for me about six years ago. I had been practicing pediatrics in the Austin area for about seven years. A special interest in violence prevention led me to read widely on this topic. The work of John Holt, an education reform author planted the seed for a community-based family program. He wrote, "It has become clear to me that one of the most deep-rooted causes of our problems is the way we treat children and above all babies. I am equally convinced that no program of social and political change that does not include and begin with changes in the ways in which we bear and rear children has any chance of making things better." He described a place in England called the Peckham Centre which he felt was a possible model for improving the lives of children and families. The more I researched this concept, the more convinced I became that this was where my future lay. I recruited the help of other families interested in a supportive community for the compassionate treatment of children and we began to search for a site suitable for this purpose. Bettina Vaello, M.D.