POSITIVE DIRECTIONS-THE CENTER FOR PREVENTION & COUNSELING INC

TREATMENT Positive Directions operates a psychiatric outpatient and substance abuse treatment clinic for adults and adolescents, licensed by the CT Department of Public Health and Department of Children and Families. Services include individual, couples and family counseling and support groups for adults and adolescents. All major commercial and public health insurances are accepted, including Medicare and Husky, as well as sliding scale fees. A treatment fund was created in 2020-21 for those needing financial assistance. The clinical team is comprised of several masters level clinicians and 2 clinical interns throughout the year. In FY25, there were over 700 unduplicated clients served and approximately 6,000 treatment sessions were conducted by the clinical team. Our mental health services continue to include children, which lowered the age of those we treat to 10 years old.

PREVENTION Positive Directions is a leading prevention organization in the region utilizing the strategic prevention framework model to lead substance abuse prevention efforts in Norwalk and Westport, CT. The agency is the lead partner running The Norwalk Partnership and the Westport Prevention Coalition and serves as one of the 12 sectors for the Fairfield Cares Community Coalition. They help build member capacity, gather data, coordinate meetings, provide training, and lead initiatives. In FY25, we engaged over 160 stakeholders in our coalition work to strengthen mental health prevent risky behaviors. We reached approximately 13,800 community members with education awareness efforts and engaged over 400 unduplicated high school-aged youth in Teen Nights Out activities.