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Support Us As We Support Our Community
A FAMILY’S EMOTIONAL HEALTH BEGINS WITH THEIR MENTAL HEALTH. Somewhere in our community today, there's a mother who feels she just can't cope. There's a father near breaking point. Perhaps made worse by homelessness, joblessness, or pandemic pressures, family...
A Grateful Heart: A Thanksgiving Message from our CEO
As I write this, families and friends are excitedly gathering for the Thanksgiving holiday. Perhaps for the first time in over a year of pandemic living, some of us will be able to travel and hug our loved ones in person. We’ll be able to share in a meal and express...
Celebrating A Milestone Anniversary: Darcelle’s 40 Years of Service
There are many things that make The Guidance Center special: our 75 years of serving children and families in our community; our many partnerships with leaders, community members, nonprofit organizations, and schools; and the children and families who are brave...
Adopt-A-Family 2021: Spreading Holiday Cheer
The holiday season is just around the corner and we are delighted to announce our holiday Adopt-A-Family program! Whether you have supported this annual program for years or this is your first time learning about it, your generosity will make the holidays special for...
Grant News: SAMHSA Awards $1.5 Million to The Guidance Center
The Guidance Center has been awarded a $1,578,807 grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to enhance trauma-informed care services for vulnerable and under-represented youth and mental health staff in response to the...
Domestic Violence Awareness Month: A Conversation with Teens
“There is a subconscious way of taking violence as a way of expression, as a normality, and it has a lot of effects (on) the youth in the way they absorb education and what they hope to get out of life.”- Salma Hayek Domestic violence does not discriminate. It...
LatinX Heritage Month
“I looked up at the trees and asked for their wisdom. I observed their willowing branches and crisp brown leaves, dead with only a shimmer of light running through their veins. Its branches holding on to life with the few lively leaves it managed to hold on to....
Self-Care Awareness Month: Self-Care Tips for Children and Adults
In the midst of our busy everyday lives, work, parenting, school, chores and so many other responsibilities can sometimes be overwhelming. When you add being in the middle of a pandemic, it is hard to remember to take time for ourselves.Practicing self-care is...
Nurturing Through Nature
Research shows that connectedness is the most important shield AND antidote to traumatic experiences. Dr. Bruce Perry and Dr. Gabor Mate suggest, respectively: “Disconnection is at the heart of trauma.”, and “Children don’t get traumatized because they’re in...
Suicide Prevention Awareness Month
In the five minutes that it takes you to read this blog, it is likely that there will be roughly two deaths by suicide and eleven suicide attempts (American Academy of Suicidology 2019 Data). Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States and...
Celebrating 75 Years of Healing and Hope
Since 1946, The Guidance Center has broken down barriers and pioneered new ways to meet the unique and ever-growing mental health needs of the urban community’s most vulnerable population – children. The vision to build healthy, safe communities and a...
Back to School Tips to Help Your Child Adjust to Returning to Campus
Back to School Tips to Help Your Child Adjust to Returning to Campus In the coming weeks, many students will be heading back to a school campus and filling classrooms. This can be exciting and anxiety-provoking, scary and hopeful, joyful and stressful or all of...
Long Beach Gives 2021
The Guidance Center is excited to be one of 200+ nonprofit organizations participating in the third annual online giving event, Long Beach Gives! Set for Thursday, September 23, 2021, this citywide movement is a 24-hour day dedicated to help raise awareness...
Common Emotional Responses During Prolonged Crisis: The Feelings We Don’t Always Talk About
A year and several months into the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s hard to know what to feel. We have all been through an enormous, prolonged stressor, and it’s affected everyone. It might have affected each person differently, but no one is untouched. Because everyone had...
Building Strong Relationships to Impact Change
Three years ago, The Guidance Center and Educare of Los Angeles at Long Beach Unified School District partnered together to have a Mental Health Clinician and Consultant on-site to address and assess the needs of children and families that were at risk for mental...
An Update From The Guidance Center’s External Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force
In the wake of the murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd last summer, a group of staff members aligned to combine their talents and work together to address social injustices in the community. Members of the External Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Task...
Minority Mental Health Month: Thoughts From Our Staff
This July, during Minority Mental Health Month, we continue to raise awareness about the mental health experiences of underserved and underrepresented communities. We reached out to our diverse staff who identify as BIPOC (black, indigenous and/or people of color) and...
Minority Mental Health Awareness Month
One in six U.S. children between the ages of 6 and 17 has a treatable mental health disorder such as depression, anxiety problems or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a 2016 National Survey of Children's Health data published online in JAMA...
Understanding the Signs of PTSD
Quinta was a 4-year-old girl who entered treatment when her mom noticed her reluctance to play with other children at school. Quinta was severely shy, had nightmares almost every night, and would often “zone out” at home. People often associate the term “PTSD” with...
Public Safety Clinician Program Update
Transitioning from Jail to Shelter: A Therapist’s Experience Since 2018, I have served as the Public Safety Clinician in the Long Beach City Jail. In the midst of the pandemic, I was temporarily reassigned to three different shelters to provide mental health services...