ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – Accessibility to quality and affordable mental health services is hard to find, but there’s a new resource in north St. Louis County offering people hope.
Avenues Counseling Center had its grand opening over the weekend at its new location on 409 South Florissant Road in Ferguson.
“The accessibility to counseling and mental health help is a luxury to those who can afford it,” Lianne Johnson, Executive Director of Avenues Counseling Center, said. “We are striving every day to fight against that because every single human and person deserves access to mental health and wellness, no matter if they are affluent or not, no matter of the tone of their skin.”
Avenues’ first office opened in Richmond Heights more than a decade ago. The new location will not only serve people in Ferguson but also Jennings, Berkley, Bridgeton, and North St. Louis City, all designated as mental health provider shortage areas.
“If you look at what the Chiron Foundation has done studies in this area by zip codes, and mental health in St. Louis pings is the worst in this area,” Johnson said. “Our vision is to provide mental health counseling to anyone who has a need, regardless of their ability to pay.”
They work with people as young as five all the way up to the elderly. They provide individual, couple, and family counseling. The expansion doesn’t stop there. A new intensive outpatient program for teens is set to open at the Ferguson location this summer.
“{The program is} a step down from a teen going to hospitalization and a step up from weekly counseling,” Johnson said. “So it’s more intense of a time of counseling to continue to encourage them to be in school, be with friends, socialize.”
Their fundraising need this year is just under $200,000. Programs like this are made possible by counselors who donate services by offering reduced fees based on need.
“This community, in particular, is a place that has absorbed trauma, and it has been impacted, of course, by the Michael Brown killing,” Johnson said. “This is an area that is thirsty for mental health help
You can learn more about how to make an appointment, the services offered, and how you can help the cause here: https://avenuescounselingcenter.org/
