Gainesville Community Counseling Center Named Finalist for Small Non-Profit of the Year Award
Congratulations to the Gainesville Community Counseling Center (one of the nonprofits that is part of the Highlands Regional Ministry Center), which has been named a finalist for their Small Non-Profit of the Year Award by the Gainesville Chamber of Commerce. This award “honors organizations for their role in helping the region become a global hub of talent, innovation and opportunity.”
Presbytery member Larry Green, Executive Director of the Gainesville Community Counseling Center said that “our vision is make our services accessible to the community, which is why we partner with area schools, businesses, churches, and other community organizations to provide professional development trainings, seminars and workshops, as well as counseling groups for students. Our desire is for all people to access tools to reach their maximum potential, because holistic well- being is the cornerstone of a thriving community. We understand mental health to be a significant component of the social justice movement and seek to promote and achieve social justice through holistic therapy service and multicultural competence.
In their application, the Gainesville Community Counseling Center highlighted their rapid growth over the past year: “2020 has been an explosive year of growth for us. We have experienced an 180% increase in clients receiving services and an increase of 300% in the number of contacts (phone calls, emails, and website) requesting assistance with free therapy as well as requests to provide therapeutic services in lower socioeconomic neighborhoods where DV has increased and services are generally not available. We have expanded our staff to add an additional full-time therapist and two additional part-time therapists.” By the end of this calendar year, the GCCC will have provided nearly 3,000 hours of therapy to over 500 unique clients.
Among their successes this year was securing a grant to purchase a Mobile Mental Health Clinic. Larry Green stated that the “MMHC will go out into the community and directly respond to the significant needs for mental health services in lower socio-economic neighborhoods and the rural communities.” Services will be provided free of charge to clients, but donations will be gladly accepted. Anyone interested in financially supporting the MMHC can do so at https://secure.actblue.com/donate/givegccc.
We give thanks for the ministry occurring through Gainesville Community Counseling Center and their commitment to mental health services for those in need.