The primary mission and philosophy of SPIRITT Family Services is “To strengthen the family unit by promoting mental health and well-being through proactive programs of education, prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery, and to strengthen the individual’s self-concept through personal development, taking into consideration the multicultural communities served.”

SPIRITT Family Services began under the name Project INFO Community Services in 1972. The private, nonprofit organization was developed in answer to a specific request from the Whittier Union High School District for assistance in the prevention of increased drug abuse among its student population. The result was the development of a single program, WINDOWS/VENTANAS that remains at the core of the agency’s services today.

From its humble beginnings in a donated one room office, and a small staff of six part-time employees with a very large commitment to families, the agency has grown today to a staff of nearly 100, with five Centers that are located and serve the communities in and around Whittier, Santa Fe Springs, La Puente, El Monte and Glendora. Agency services presently being provided include group & individual counseling, education, prevention, intervention and treatment of alcohol and drug abuse as well as child abuse, domestic violence and family preservation. Classes are offered in family communication, parenting and anger management as well as after school programs and tutoring for at-risk youth. Program services are provided and available in both English and Spanish.

In April of 2000, the agency changed its name to SPIRITT Family Services. Though the name Project INFO had a great deal of nostalgia and familiarity about it, it no longer reflected who and what the agency was all about. So a new millennium was entered as SPIRITT Family Services.

SPIRITT is an acronym for Skills (for) Prevention, Intervention, Recovery, Individual Treatment (&) Training. The name not only characterizes what the agency does in the communities it serves, but portrays the philosophy and motivation behind it – and that is to uplift the human spirit.