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ACS, Springing Forward
Palo Alto Weekly
As Adolescent Counseling Services celebrates its 30th Anniversary,
the spotlight is on program expansion, summer counseling,
and a new, user-friendly website. ACS began in 1975 with
Caravan House (CH), a group home for abused and neglected
teen girls. Realizing the tremendous positive impact of
intervention and prevention, ACS added an On-Campus Counseling
(OCC) Program, providing free counseling for students at
six secondary schools, and the Adolescent Substance Abuse
Treatment (ASAT) Program, helping teens recover from substance
abuse.
Among the list of exciting, new developments at ACS
is an Expansion into Mitchell Park.
ACS recently began a new partnership with the City of
Palo Alto to offer evening education classes for parents
at the Mitchell Park Community Center.
Though ACS has offered education for several years,
the agency has never before had a permanent home for
hosting regularly scheduled classes. Executive Director
Philippe Rey, Psy.D. remarks, “We’re excited
to have the opportunity to provide accessible parent
education. Parents will learn about the challenges their
children face, as well as develop the skills to address
these tough issues.”
ACS education classes are provided by mental health
professionals who have a passion for prevention and a
commitment to building a healthy community. Classes are
open to the public with a $5 suggested donation. No one
will be turned away due to lack of funds. A full schedule
and description of classes is available online at www.acs
teens.org.
In addition, ACS’s On-Campus Counseling Program
will offer Summer Counseling for the
first time this year. Summer counseling will be open
to existing ACS clients as well as on a drop-in basis
for summer school students. Schedule: Weekdays, June
26 - July 21 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Palo Alto and Menlo
Atherton High Schools, and at Jordan Middle School.
ACS is also preparing to showcase its New Website,
an upgrade made possible with a $35,000 grant from the
Taproot Foundation. The new website includes a number
of exciting, easy-to-use features: a special Just for
Teens section, answers to frequently asked questions,
and a sign-up option for ACS’s e-newsletter. Visit
the new website, coming soon, at www.acs-teens.org.
With new education classes, summer counseling and a
teen-friendly website, ACS is on the move. Dr. Rey exclaims, “ACS
is thrilled to provide parent education to the broader
community, and we look forward to exploring opportunities
to fill more needs in the future through the Mitchell
Park expansion. ACS is on the verge of exciting growth,
meeting more needs than ever before.”
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