Musician George Benson (and, later, Whitney Houston) famously sang: “I believe the children 
are our future.” And since its inception in 1975, Adolescent Counseling Services (ACS) has demonstrated that mantra by providing the youth of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties with professional mental health services, support and treatment. “Adolescent Counseling Services empowers youth in our community to find their way through social-emotional support and by building safe, accepting communities.”
The nonprofit features a wealth of programs to support youth, such as On-Campus Counseling, Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment, Outlet (empowering gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning youth) and Community Counseling, among other services. ACS also provides Community Education and Internship/Training programs.
“Over the past 40 years, (ACS) has served hundreds of thousands of children and their family members, primarily exceeding all measurable objectives,” the agency states on its website. “Youth in our programs ended their use of drugs and alcohol, increased their grades, decreased their feelings of stress, depression and isolation, and increased their psycho-social functioning.”