About us
Family Paths, Inc. is a non-profit organization of mental health professionals and dedicated volunteers that provides a number of mental health and supportive services to low income, multi-stressed individuals and families.
We are a multicultural agency committed to serving families of Alameda County regardless of age, ethnicity/race, financial status, language, sexual orientation, immigration status, class, religion, gender, mental or physical ability.
We were founded in 1972 as Parental Stress Service, a volunteer-run, 24-hour parent support hotline to help prevent child abuse. Today we serve the mental health needs of children and families in Alameda County and beyond, virtually and from offices in Oakland and Hayward. These services include a 24-hour Parenting Stress Helpline providing referrals to our counseling services and access to over 900 community resources from our vast database, a Foster Parent Advice Line, CalWORKs Case Management, Positive Parenting Classes, and other supportive services. We provide counseling for children, adolescents, parents, caregivers, and families.
Family Paths is a welcoming and inclusive agency dedicated to strengthening family relationships by providing mental health treatment and supportive services with respect, integrity, compassion, and hope. It is important to us that every client feels welcome and safe, and that they receive treatment in a non-judgmental fashion.
We are a caring service agency that is willing to go the extra mile to support each other and our clients. We acknowledge that our clients come to us with many strengths and we begin work where they are at in order to reach their desired goals. We know there is more than one path to reach a goal and we are here to support that journey.
We define a “parent” as anyone who emotionally and physically protects and is raising a child, regardless of biological ties. We know that each parent who seeks support from Family Paths is affected by their socio-economic context, and we value diversity in family structure. We are committed to recognizing and serving all families. This includes families that are multiracial, foster families, LGBTQIA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, Asexual) families, single parents, relative and non-relative caregivers and adoptive families.
Family Paths is a committed partner in implementing the Trauma-Informed System (TIS) model as an organizational change model to support, nurture and sustain trauma informed practices. To learn more, go to Trauma Transformed.
Family Paths embraces the Alameda County Fathers Corps’ Father-Friendly Principles.
READ the US Surgeon General’s 2024 report – Parents Under Pressure
March 15, 2024
