More than 10,000 Santa Barbara County residents use programs provided by the Pacific Pride Foundation (PPF), which operates out of only two locations, one in Santa Barbara and the other in Santa Maria. Through funding from the Santa Barbara Foundation, the Santa Maria location recently set up a new counseling office, where various mental health services will be offered.
A team of PPF counselors, trained in issues relevant to LGBTQ-plus mental health and wellness, will now host individual, couples, and family therapy programs in the new counseling room. Services will also be available to family members of the LGBTQ-plus community and those impacted by HIV.
Colette Schabram, executive director of the PPF, considers the addition to the Santa Maria location a crucial step toward the goal to offer all of the foundation’s core programs at both locations, and in both English and Spanish. Finding funding was the first stepping stone for the Santa Maria launch, she explained.
“In order to identify, locate, and secure funding, we realized a larger, countywide conversation was necessary for community partners to understand the importance of an LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS counseling center, specializing in these [Santa Barbara County] populations,” Schabram told the Sun.
“We couldn’t be more excited to have fiscal support from the Santa Barbara Foundation to help facilitate the launch of this program,” Schabram continued. “We had been searching for that ideal community partner who could revitalize and invest in this critical support that has existed for decades.”
The PPF began in 1976 as Western Addiction Services Program (WASP), a drug- and alcohol-abuse counseling and referral center for gay men and lesbians. The program began offering free, anonymous HIV testing in 1984, in the midst of the emerging HIV epidemic.
Over the next few decades, the program became an invaluable resource for people living with HIV/AIDS and the LGBTQ-plus community in Santa Barbara County, as well as other coastal communities between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
What separates the PPF’s counseling services from those of most other nonprofits is an assured cultural competence, Schabram explained.
“While numerous other nonprofits provide reputable, affordable counseling, we hear frequently that LGBTQ clients and clients living with HIV/AIDS are having to educate their therapists on their identities and needs,” Schabram said. “This creates a barrier for the client and increases the likelihood of such clients ending therapy early and, in the future, not asking for help when they need it.”
The PPF Santa Maria location is located at 123 S. College Drive, Santa Maria. Call (805) 963-3636, Ext. 108, or visit pacificpridefoundation.org for more information.
Highlights:
• The Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce hosts its annual Strawberry Industry Recognition Dinner on April 3, from 6 to 9 p.m. at Santa Maria Fairpark, located at 937 S. Thornburg, Santa Maria. The event includes dinner, live music, a raffle, and presentations from local strawberry industry professionals. For more info on attending or sponsoring the event, visit santamaria.com/events.
• Envoy Mortgage opened a new office in Santa Maria, located at 2345 S. Broadway, suite A, Santa Maria. Contact sales manager/loan originator Eddie San Jose at (805) 614-7144 or visit envoymortgage.com for more information.
Calendar Editor Caleb Wiseblood wrote this week’s Biz Spotlight. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, mail, or email at spotlight@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Mar 21-28, 2019.