The Family Center of Columbus, Inc.

The Family Center is a private, nonprofit, community service organization dedicated to helping individuals and families enhance their own skills, recognize their potential, and reach their own goals.

For over a century, The Family Center has helped to strengthen and empower families because we believe that strong, healthy families create strong communities.

This work continues today with major initiatives to:

• Provide affordable behavioral and mental health services for all
• Empower children to achieve their fullest potential
• Enhance family functioning, parent-child relationships, and school performance
• Provide financial education and money management tools to help families attain economic self-sufficiency

Why we do it…

• To give hope back to families
• To encourage people to dream

We believe that families are at the heart of our society and need to be strengthened and preserved. We believe services should be affordable, accessible to all, and of high quality.

What we do…

We provide hope, help, and healing to the more than 10,000 individuals who turn to us each year.

We are a leader in:

• Providing affordable behavioral and mental health counseling
• Youth Mentoring
• Case Management
• After-school Programs
• Parenting Classes
• Financial Counseling and Money Management Assistance
• Homebuyer counseling and foreclosure prevention services

Our Vision…

A strong community built on healthy individuals and families.

Our Mission...

To provide the most effective counseling, education, and mentoring services needed to support, strengthen, and enhance the quality of life for children, individuals, and families within our community.

Our Values…

The FamilyCenter will be guided in all of its services and activities by these basic CORE values:

• PROVIDING EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE - The quality of our services will exceed the expectations of our customers, both internal and external.
• ACTING WITH INTEGRITY - Integrity, trust, honesty, respect, and fiscal responsibility will guide the Board of Directors, Employees, and Volunteers at all times.
• MAKING A DIFFERENCE - Individually and collectively, we will act to make the greatest positive impact on families.
• EMBRACING DIVERSITY - We recognize the inherent worth in every individual and respect the diversity of all.

Accreditations

The FamilyCenter is accredited by the Council on Accreditation, an international, independent organization that partners with human service organizations to improve outcomes for individuals, families, and communities by developing, applying, and promoting the highest level of service delivery standards worldwide.

The FamilyCenter is also a member of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, the Alliance for Children and Families, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, and Families and Schools Together, Inc.

We are committed to providing the highest level of quality services, by applying industry-wide best practices, and embracing a practice of continuous quality improvement.

History

Originally established in 1909, The Family Center was founded by a group of concerned business leaders and community volunteers as a social welfare and family rehabilitation organization. In the beginning, the organization operated as the Welfare Bureau for MuscogeeCounty residents. In 1936, when the State of Georgia formed what is now known as the Department of Family & Children Services and began providing direct assistance, the organization channeled its energies into other areas of social work and became the first accredited behavioral and mental health counseling center in Columbus, Georgia.

Over 100 years later, The Family Center continues to address the needs of the communities within our region, with an emphasis on empowering those who are vulnerable, oppressed, or living in poverty. As needs have changed in the community, The Family Center has responded and adapted to those needs.

Today we continue to serve nearly 10,000 individuals and families each year, with a variety of programs designed to deal with the current problems of today.