History

The Family Counseling Center of Mobile, Inc. was first formed as a United Way Agency and separate entity on September 28, 1958.

Prior to that time, two separate agencies operated.  Travelers Aid society began as a service of the Mobile YWCA in 1917 as a protective program for newcomers and young people.  In 1944 it became a separate agency.  Child and Family Services was created as a new United Way Agency in 1940 to provide case work to children’s institutions in Mobile, i.e., Protestant Children’s Home, Wilmer Hall, Florence Crittenton Home and Community day Care Center.  Later Family Counseling Center was added to its services.  Basic services included marital counseling, child guidance, prevention of delinquency and counseling for unmarried mothers.

In 1958, a community study recommended a new agency be formed from Traveler’s Aid and Child and Family Services.  The program objectives of this agency were to continue work in three major areas:  Family and Marital Counseling, Traveler’s Aid and child Placement.

In 1984, upon recommendation of the Community chest, the Traveler’s Aid Service was placed under the auspices of the Salvation Army.  As times changed, needs of the community changed.  In 1989 we added Specialized Services for Adults to meet the needs of elderly home bound clients and their caregivers.  In late 1989, Consumer Credit Counseling Service began serving the needs of families burdened by debt and financial problems.  As the scope of family problems continued to increase, the board chose to expand service delivery to include surrounding counties.  Three satellite offices were opened – Montrose, Jackson and Saraland.

2000 - 2005

• 2002 - Services at the Saraland office were discontinued with those clients being re-directed to the main office in Mobile.
• In response to a charge for the agency to always look for opportunities to better serve the community, the Executive Director and the Board of Directors, after due diligence, approved the merger of Helpline and Rape Crisis Center into the Family Counseling Center of Mobile, Inc. in 2002.  The merger resulted in greater financial stability and services for these programs.
• A Strategic Plan was approved by the Board in 2000, which included the preparation of a Marketing Plan and established a Community Relations position which was filled in 2004.
• In 2003, the Agency embarked upon its first fundraising event with funds raised going toward the support of operations and client services.  The second annual fundraiser, “Mother of All Silent Auctions”, was held the Thursday before Mother’s Day 2004, at the Aircraft Pavilion at the USS Battleship Alabama.

2005 - 2010

• The Board determined that as a result of the successes of these events, that the “Mother of All Silent Auctions” would be held again in May 2009.  This was the final year for the event.
• In 2010, we partnered with the Child Advocacy Center to work on the Callaghan’s Golf Tournament.  Using our time and talent, we were a partner and a recipient of funding for the next three years.  We also began the “Kicking Out Sexual Violence” Kickball Tournament, Karaoke Night, raffles and BBQ fundraisers.
• In 2008, we began work on the Child Advocacy Center contract along with providing mental health consultation work for Head Start and Early Head Start.  We also began working on our Strengthening Families and Juvenile Anger Management program contract with Mobile County Juvenile Court.

2011 - 2015

• Looking at unserved victims in our community, we approached a state funder (ADECA) about providing services to the families of homicide victims or “homicide survivors” in 2011.
• Through state public health funding, we received much needed funds to train our community on suicide prevention and intervention programs in 2012.
• We became the fiduciary agent for the Bank On South Alabama Initiative and the South Alabama Asset Building Coalition through CCCS in 2013.
• In 2015, we began providing pregnancy prevention programming throughout our community.

2016 -

At LCS, our goal is to see our community thrive.  We are an agency where community members can come to receive assistance across their life span and life challenges.  We offer solutions for obstacles encountered in daily living.  We have entry points for community members struggling with crisis and in need of immediate assistance; community members needing to maintain daily living; and community members needing to build on their current skills to thrive.  We are the community expert in helping community members deal with trauma and abuse across the spectrum from toddler to senior; teens and adults struggling with anger management issues; individuals and families successfully manage their finances and attain the American Dream of owning a home and contributing to our community; and providing prevention education programs, workshops and resources for community members in southwest Alabama.  Through crisis, emotional and financial counseling and education, we build strong, healthy families (family resiliency); parent successful children, teens and young adults; cope with stressors of daily living in each stage of life; and support our seniors, as they enter into their golden years.