Healthy families and communities that provide the resources and support for all young people to attain their full potential.

Empower families in low-income communities of Los Angeles County to break the cycle of poverty, child abuse, violence, academic failure, and teen pregnancy through outstanding educational, youth development, health and therapeutic services.

Believing that “a child cannot grow up twice”, El Nido was founded in 1925 by the National Council of Jewish Women to provide meals and respite care to undernourished and neglected girls in Los Angeles.

El Nido (the Nest) was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) in 1954. In the 1960s, El Nido expanded to include residential shelters, and offered guidance for abused, abandoned and runaway girls. By 1979, El Nido Family Centers became formally independent and had grown to include social services for both boys and girls. As the incidence of child abuse, school failure, youth crime and teen pregnancy increased, El Nido’s focus evolved to community-based prevention and early intervention.

Throughout its history, El Nido has been a pioneer. It was the first, or a leading local agency, to employ multicultural professionals from its target communities, deliver counseling and parent education in non-traditional settings like schools, inner-city churches and housing projects, and offer home or school-based group services for pregnant and parenting teens.

Today, El Nido continues to build healthy families by providing community based social services in some of the most underserved communities in Los Angeles County including; Pacoima and surrounding communities, South Los Angeles, Compton, and the Antelope Valley.

Read More About El Nido Family Centers’ History (PDF)