Tides Family Services

Tides Family Services, a non-profit family service agency dedicated to Rhode Island's most at-risk youth, was founded by Brother Michael Reis in 1983. Br. Michael brought with him decades of professional experience to the Tides Family Services mission, having worked for years with delinquent youth. In 1975, Br. Michael co-founded the Ocean Tides School; a center that has become one of the most successful programs for court supervised youth in the country. At the end of his term as President of Ocean Tides in 1982, Br. Michael, recognizing a clear need for these at-risk youth to have more support in their families and communities, decided to take on a new challenge. Br. Michael designed a program that would work to preserve youth in their families and communities, providing the support and services they needed at a critical time in their lives. Thus, in 1983, Tides Family Services was born.

Since then, Tides has developed services to include counseling, outreach and tracking, home-based therapeutic services, advocacy and educational programs for youth at risk for school failure. Our at-risk population ranges from families with children who display early signs of risky behaviors to families with youth returning to their communities from the State Training School.

Since its incorporation, Tides Family Services has grown into a family of its own, a new generation of dedicated and energetic outreach workers, social workers and clinicians alive with the Spirit and mission of St. John Baptist De La Salle. Throughout its growth, Tides Family Services remains true to its mission in developing programs that meet the needs of a very specific population. An agency "without walls", Tides' staff can be found on the streets, in schools, in Family Court, in homes and at the neighborhood basketball courts. Wherever kids gather, Tides follows.