New partnership will offer free counseling services to benefit Louisville families

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A new partnership in Kentuckiana is hoping to make a difference in the lives of local families.

Personal Counseling Services (PCS) is teaming up with Hope Place Community Development Center to provide free counseling services one day each week.

"This is really a dream come true," said Kristy Robison, director of Hope Place Community Development Center. "Personal Counseling Services reached out to us about this opportunity. We have been so excited because from the beginning, we have just been dreaming and praying about the potential for one day to be able to offer counseling to the students and families that we serve."

Robison said Hope Place serves as a resource for the community, offering after-school therapeutic programing for kids, as well as extra curricular activities, and adult education classes.

"We're located here on the south side of Louisville where we serve neighbors, refugees, and immigrants who make up this amazing community," she said.

Robinson said the past few years have proven to be especially challenging for some families and she's thankful to now have the opportunity to offer these free counseling services thanks to PCS.

"Many of our students and families, they have experienced a lot of trauma and adversity in their lives, then you throw in the COVID pandemic and over the past couple of years we have seen a lot more mental health challenges, behavioral challenges, in many of the families that we serve," she said.

Through the partnership, PCS is providing a therapist to Hope Place one day each week. Robison said Hope Place already has the clients.

"They're already here. They're already in our programming," she said.

President and CEO of PCS, Doug Drake, said he's looking forward to this partnership growing in the future.

"Just being able to have this partnership, to see these children grow and have success, that's all we need," said Drake. "I want kids and the community to be healthy — mentally, emotionally, and physically."

The counseling services are expected to begin before the end of the year.

For information about Personal Counseling Services, click here.

For information about Hope Place, click here.