Alma Family Services

Alma Family Services is a community-based organisation founded in 1975 by parents seeking to serve families, including those with special needs. It provides multilingual, culturally competent family and mental health services across East Los Angeles and surrounding communities, among them Long Beach, Walnut, Pico Rivera, El Monte and San Gabriel.

Its work spans several domains: mental health outpatient services, substance abuse treatment, child and family development, domestic violence services, developmental disabilities services, aquatics and therapeutic recreation, and vocational and social programmes. Interdisciplinary mental health outpatient services are delivered from eight office locations covering all age ranges, and are also functionally integrated within community health facilities and domestic violence programmes in the greater East Los Angeles and San Gabriel communities. Child and family development work includes a child abuse prevention and early intervention programme for children with developmental disabilities, the Centro Estrella Family Resource Center and a preschool centre. An Aquatics Center offers programmes for children, adolescents, adults and older adults with special needs.

Services are delivered in clients' homes and in a range of community settings, including residential facilities, schools, social and vocational programmes, juvenile facilities, community health facilities and domestic violence programmes. The organisation is staffed by multidisciplinary, multicultural professionals and describes a long-standing "whatever it takes" tradition of service, with an emphasis on listening to, supporting and empowering individuals and families facing complex challenges.