Family Services of the Desert

About

Family Services of the Desert is a nonprofit organization that assists the most vulnerable members of Eastern Riverside County.

Story

WHO WE ARE: Family Services of the Desert is a nonprofit organization that protects the most vulnerable members of society by confronting issues of child abuse and domestic violence within the family. Throughout the past 51 years, FSOD has made a significant impact in the lives of tens of thousands of men, women, and children. We currently have offices in Desert Hot Springs, Indio and Blythe.
Description
Family Services of the Desert is a nonprofit organization that protects the most vulnerable members of society by confronting issues of child abuse and domestic violence within the family. Throughout the past 49 years, FSOD has made a significant impact in the lives of tens of thousands of men, women, and children. We currently have offices in Desert Hot Springs, Indio and Blythe.
General Information
Since 1959, FSOD has been providing affordable, quality counseling and family support services to county residents. Our goal is to enable as many individuals as possible to access mental health and family support services, regardless of income. This year FSOD will provide services to an estimated 1600 men women and children.

• WHO WE ARE:

Family Services of the Desert is a nonprofit organization that protects the most vulnerable members of society by confronting issues of child abuse and domestic violence within the family. Throughout the past 49 years, FSOD has made a significant impact in the lives of tens of thousands of men, women, and children. We currently have offices in Desert Hot Springs, Indio and Blythe.

• WHAT WE DO:
FSOD provides mental health and family services to residents of Eastern Riverside County.

Including:


• Individual & Family Therapy:

Clinicians provide both short and long-term care for individual and family systems through the utilization of Individual, conjoint and family counseling services. The ultimate objective of counseling services is to prevent the occurrence or reoccurrence of child maltreatment or domestic violence events, to prevent unnecessary separation of children from their families and to ensure permanency by maintaining or reuniting children with their parents, adoptive parents, relative caregivers, or legal guardians. Group Counseling: FSOD clinicians offer a number of group counseling sessions, some of which meet a need to provide counseling to individuals appointed by the courts to access such services. All groups are offered in both English & Spanish.

• Anger Management /Domestic Violence (AM/DV:

• The primary goal of the AM/DV education program is to engage and partner with parents/caretakers to teach the skills necessary to significantly minimize the occurrence/re-occurrence of child maltreatment and neglect within families. Families who understand, nurture and support healthy psycho-social development and actively attend to the physical and emotional and psycho-social needs of individual family members are better able to cope with the stressors of daily living.


• Domestic Violence Recovery:

• 16 week open-ended class helps victims to identify domestic violence issues and patterns. Group discussions, homework, class handouts and counseling assist victims in understanding and realizing the victims’ role and teaching the techniques needed to stop the cycle of violence and abuse.

• Child Abuse:

It is understood that individuals often parent their own children in the way they themselves were parented. FSOD understands when there is family conflict, substance abuse, violence, or when parents do not have an appropriate understanding of their children’s emotional, cognitive, or physical development needs, the children often suffer. This program teaches parents how to deal with conflict and stressors in daily life and works on ways to resolve conflict in a healthy way.

• Parenting:

The curriculum provides parents with opportunities to develop and practice parenting strategies and techniques that will enhance their ability to nurture and support healthy psycho-social development in their children. FSOD’s program design allows parents the opportunity to meet with the group facilitator for individualized assistance in developing specific parenting strategies or intervention programs for specific behavioral problems.


• Adoption/ Foster Family Support Services:

FSOD provides services to foster & adoptive families to include; individual and family counseling, adult support groups and groups for children. The goal of the program is to increase the permanency of placements and strengthen the family unit

• Domestic Violence Advocacy:

The program provides domestic abuse advocacy intervention services to CALWORKS clients, referred by DPSS and/or self referred CALWORK’S clients. FSOD staff works with the client to determine specific services necessary to assist the client in escaping or stopping further abuse. Services include but are not limited to: individual and group counseling; parenting skills and independent living skills training; temporary restraining orders as necessary for safety; access to a 45-day emergency shelter for women and children based on need and availability
• Hotline (760)972-7107

• Our approach takes into account the unique characteristics of the individual involved by taking into consideration culture, language, gender, age and family needs.



• Food Now, Inc:

Distributes nutritional food three days a week, 52 weeks a year to an average of 450 qualified low income families a week. The volunteers and staff rely on donations to ensure that families, children and the homeless receive meals. It is the mission of Food Now to fight food insecurity and alleviate hunger in the community by providing healthy and nutritious food for people in need. Providing families; with a healthy educational nutritional support for families with infants and children. They have been able to help the ever growing number of people who are in need. Each year we continue to advance our mission in feeding the hungry.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

Jeffrey Patterson, President
Attorney At LawAurora Wilson, Vice President CVAGLinda Blake, Treasurer
Sandra Brooks, SecretaryRuben Arias
CA Dept of Food and AgricultureBruce Craven
Director Columbia School of Business
Marjorie DennisFlorence Holdsworth
Founding Board MemberDana Johnson
David Johnson
Dynamic Window CoveringsMichael O’KeefeDavid Peet
Total Marketing Partners
Jesse Villareal
Coachella City Council

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR:
Mike Russell

Mission

Family Services of the Desert strives to foster the development of healthy individual and family life, particularly the offering of professional counseling, and to bring to bear on the difficulties and problems of individuals and families all the social resources of the community. To stimulate and promote such social thinking and actions as will better economic and social conditions for the wellbeing of the family. To increase the efficiency, effectiveness, and economy of social work in the family and child welfare fields. To engage in the study of factors contributing to family disorganization and to develop skill and knowledge in dealing with personal and family problems. To make available to all people within the area of its operation a family consultation service without discrimination. To engage in educational and community efforts designed to strengthen family life.