El Nido Family Centers

Penicillin and a better economy in the ‘50s brought the first change to El Nido. The country was changing and so were teens; they were growing up faster. Attention was re-focused on girls who were often called “wayward” and needed a positive living environment in order to have a chance for success. In 1954, El Nido opened its first residential counseling center on South Normandie Avenue near Third Street in Los Angeles. They also incorporated as a 501(c) 3.

Through the ‘60s and into the ‘70s, El Nido grew. They offered family therapy, added boys as clients and opened new centers. They joined with the LA Unified School District to offer school-based counseling, a revolutionary concept for its time. As they grew, El Nido decided it was time to strike out on their own from the National Council of Jewish Women and created their own board of directors and a development arm for fundraising.

The ‘70s also brought the next major incarnation of El Nido. They took a hard look at what would be best for LA. They found they could serve more people more effectively by closing the residential facilities and instead using existing buildings (and new ones) for expanded outreach and counseling in areas that needed them most—including South LA, Pacoima and the South Bay. Also during this time, El Nido pioneered a truly groundbreaking endeavor, school-based counseling. El Nido's staff went into the schools to train school counselors in the latest

techniques of group and one-on-one counseling, enabling more students to reap the benefits. Also, El Nido joined with the USC School of Social Work to develop a groundbreaking program at inner-city churches and community centers. Instead of people going to El Nido, El Nido went to them, a revolutionary idea for its time. Social workers offered one-on-one counseling, plus parenting skills workshops, to people who might not have been comfortable going to a center. It was also at this time that El Nido began a productive relationship with universities in Los Angeles , as a sought-after social service agency to train young new professionals.

In the ‘80s, El Nido added two programs – the Adolescent Family Life Program and the Parent Education Program—for pregnant and parenting teens to help them better care for their children and manage their heath care, plus finish high school and plan for their futures. El Nido also partnered with other community agencies across Los Angeles County, teaching parenting skills at the Vaughn Family Center in Pacoima, conducting school counseling in Santa Monica and South Central, and providing in-home visits. These programs helped parents to better cope with the stresses of parenting and avoid potential abuse, lessening the need to remove children from their homes.

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