Expand<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cWe are opening new doors here at the Guidance Center to support doors to stability and to opportunity,\u201d Mayor Rex Richardson said. \u201cWe know sometimes how difficult it might be for families to navigate complex systems of support, and the fact that you can walk through one door and get resources to the entire family \u2013 whether it\u2019s mental health support or access to economic opportunity \u2013 that\u2019s a good thing for our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
The services at the center will include basic needs resources, such as links to food, clothing and hygiene resources; specialty mental health care, such as support groups and parenting workshops to strengthen family relationships; and workshops and education programs designed to provide tools and build self-efficacy.<\/p>\n
The Family Resource Center will be a safe gathering space to build networks of support with quarterly community events and more.<\/p>\n
By addressing both mental health and basic needs, the Guidance Center will give families the foundation to not only survive but also thrive, officials said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m tearful about finally opening a Family Resource Center,\u201d said Guidance Center CEO Patricia Costales. \u201cIt has been my dream for literally decades, because we\u2019re really good at providing very intensive mental health services, and what\u2019s lacking though is the preventive, softer touch things that can perhaps prevent a family from needing that level of care.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Family Resource Center team will be composed of coordinator Julio Perez and case manager Heidi Diaz. Their combined leadership and collaboration will ensure the community is supported in any way they need.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s very needed,\u201d Diaz said about the center. \u201cI used to live in the area when I was little, and honestly, I feel like this is perfect because everyone should be able to get help.<\/p>\n
\u201cComing back and being able to work in the community I grew up in is really nice,\u201d Diaz added. \u201cWe\u2019re really excited for the community to come and enjoy the space.\u201d<\/p>\n
The project, Costales said, was made possible through a grant from the Josephine S. Gumbiner Foundation, as well as the Miller Foundation, Munzer Foundation and the Parsons Foundation.<\/p>\n
After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, there were guided tours of the new space. New signage marks the entrance of the Family Resource Center, and inside, there is a newly set-up computer lab to support families with job search, homework assistance and general access to essential resources.<\/p>\n
The center also has a growing mini-library that features more than 100 new books, donated by The Book Truck \u2013 a local nonprofit that gives free books to foster care, homeless and low-income teens throughout Los Angeles County and Long Beach.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m beyond thrilled to finally be able to keep doing what we\u2019re really good at, this high-level mental health care, but to finally do something that really supports our entire families and communities in a different way,\u201d Costales said. \u201cCommunities that have been marginalized and disenfranchised and to be able to create this place of culture for them, it\u2019s a dream come true.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Long Beach children and families have a new safe space to access resources and programs they need. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":79053,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[7,179,23,131,133,132,137],"class_list":{"0":"post-79052","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-long-beach","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-community","10":"tag-local-news","11":"tag-long-beach","12":"tag-long-beach-headlines","13":"tag-long-beach-news","14":"tag-los-angeles-county"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79052"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79052\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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