Family Service Agency is a non-profit organization that has provided basic needs assistance, family support, and mental health counseling since 1899, and has offices encompassing most of the entirety of Santa Barbara County. They are truly dedicated to promoting a trauma responsive team through their year-long training with the National Council for Behavioral Health and annual surveys to measure the organization’s progress in becoming a more trauma informed agency. Through these trainings, and an overall culture of equity and holistic care, Family Service Agency prides itself on providing the community with the best assistance possible. The team understands the importance of cultural sensitivity when working with underserved populations and hires staff that is bilingual and trilingual to best support community members.

     When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the Family Service Agency, like many other organizations, was forced to move online to continue their work, using zoom calls, emails, and social media for communication. They maintained their core services while also expanding to new ones, such as providing food distribution, which did need to remain in person to provide life sustaining assistance. To help support their own staff, the Family Service Agency provided in-house child care for employees, which became a much needed service as childcare centers started closing and schools became remote across the county at the height of the pandemic.

     While the Family Service Agency assists all age groups and backgrounds, they also have a program specific to the senior population. Even though ACEs work focuses on children and youth development, adults and seniors also have high ACE scores and must deal with the effects long after childhood. This has been exacerbated during the pandemic, as many seniors were isolated – cut off from family and friends – so FSA worked with partners to increase the help provided.

     While the pandemic forced Family Service Agency to adapt and evolve, they continued to prove their resilience in trying times by supporting their own employees and providing even more help for underserved groups in our community.

To view more information about the Family Service Agency, click here to access their website.

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