Treating behavioral health and substance use disorders for over 40 years.
At The Grove Counseling Center, we are proud to be part of a long history of hope and healing. The Grove was founded in 1971 as the Drug Action Committee of Seminole County (DACSC), headed by Dr. Luis Perez of Sanford. The founders were a group of concerned citizens who believed that strengthening the family unit was the key to attacking the growing problem of substance abuse.
In 1974, DASC founded The Grove, an alternative school, and The Counseling Center. DACSC formally changed its name to The Grove Counseling Center, Inc. in 1980.
In 1982, The Grove relocated to The Seminole Youth Ranch in Winter Springs. The land was leased to The Grove for a dollar a year. By 1984, The Grove had constructed a new building on the property and was ready to offer residential treatment to community and foster youth.
The Grove Counseling Center continues to provide both outpatient and residential treatment for substance use and behavioral health disorders. Our outpatient programs are provided in Longwood, and on the campus of the Community Food and Outreach Center in downtown Orlando (opened in 2013). The Grove Academy voluntary residential treatment campus serves adolescents from across the state of Florida.
The Grove also has a long history of effective and innovative prevention programming. The school-based Drugs, Violence and Safety (DVS) and ALPHA programs place full-time Prevention Specialists on the campuses of vulnerable Seminole County schools.
In 2010, The Grove opened Sunshine Grove summer camp in the Goldsboro neighborhood of Sanford. The Sunshine Grove curriculum focuses on decision-making, goal-setting and healthy living. Sunshine Grove expanded to an after school program in 2013, and is now complemented by a program for upper-elementary students, Arts in Action. Arts in Action explores an evidence-based prevention curriculum using the visual and performing arts.
Finally, The College Bound Project, founded in 2011, provides limited-income, first-generation and underrepresented students with the academic enrichment, social support and life skills necessary to enroll, excel and graduate from college.
The Grove looks forward to another forty years serving our Central Florida neighbors with a comprehensive service system for the prevention and treatment of substance use and behavioral health disorders.
To enhance the ability of youth and families to succeed in life.