Family Guidance Center

A Non-Profit Organization Providing Services for Alabama Families Since 1959

Media Information

If you or your organazation have media requests, please email or call:
Dr.Walter White
Executive Director
334.270.4100 or 800.499.6597 ext 225

Current FGC Press Releases

2009

FREE “10 Great Dates for Couples” featuring Dr. Rozario Slack to be held at Family Guidance Center of Alabama

August 18, 2009
MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA– Nationally known speaker Dr. Rozario Slack will present “10 Great Dates for Couples” at Family Guidance Center of Alabama on Monday, September 14th, 2009 a6 6:00 pm.

Dr. Slack’s presentation is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC through a partnership of the Life is Fun Together Program of Family Guidance Center of Alabama and the Alabama Community Healthy Marriage Initiative.

A speaker, trainer, and consultant dedicated to the areas of marriage, fatherhood, parenting, dating, and families, Dr. Slack “gives individuals the real life tools necessary to turn dreams of happy households into a reality.”

Dr. Slack is from Chattanooga, Tennessee and bases his presentation on David and Claudia Arp’s award-winning 10 Great Dates series. John Gray, author of Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus has said of 10 Great Dates, “You will love growing together while going out together.”

Life is Fun Together (LIFT) is a relationship and marriage enhancement program providing education and information on building and sustaining healthy relationships and marriages to all people in Montgomery and the surrounding areas FREE of charge. Using 8 specialized and research-based curricula, LIFT offers educational workshops, information and referral services, on-going support, and a resource library to teenagers, single adults, non-married parents, parents of teens, adults and children in stepfamilies, premarital couples, and married couples. The skills taught can be used as tools to strengthen almost any relationship.

The Alabama Community Healthy Marriage Initiative (ACHMI) was developed in response to Alabama’s high divorce rate. According to figures released in 2003 by the U.S. Census Bureau, Alabama has one of the highest divorce rates in the nation, consistently ranking in the top 5 or top 10 for the past 62 years. ACHMI is an applied research project and a collaboration of the Auburn University Department of Human Development and Family Studies, the Alabama Children's Trust Fund, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, the Montgomery chapter of the 100 Black Men, a service organization focused on strengthening youth and families, and a network of community-based agencies across the state, such as Family Guidance Center of Alabama. ACHMI provides resources and educational programs for youth and adults in Alabama on the skills and knowledge necessary for building healthy and stable relationships and marriages.

The event will be held at 6:00 pm on Monday, September 14th in Building D at Family Guidance Center, located at 2358 Fairlane Drive. For additional information about this event or other offerings provided by the LIFT Program, please contact Family Guidance Center at (334) 270-4100 or visit www.familyguidancecenter.org.

LIFT Program Director Tonya Rogers stated that “This is an amazing opportunity to hear critically acclaimed Rozario Slack and LIFT your relationship to new heights!”

The purpose of this event is the dissemination of technical information. Funding is provided through a grant from: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Healthy Marriage Demonstration Grant #90-FE-0003/05. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this training and associated material are those of the author(s)/ presenter(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.


2008

Family Guidance Center of Alabama Awarded Grant to Provide Free Relationship and Marriage Education Programs

MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA – Family Guidance Center of Alabama has received a grant through the Alabama Department of Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention as part of the Alabama Community Healthy Marriage Initiative. The $75,000 grant has allowed Family Guidance Center to create Life is Fun Together (LIFT): A Relationship and Marriage Enhancement Program which provides education and information on building and sustaining healthy relationships and marriages to all people in Montgomery and the surrounding areas FREE of charge. Using 5 specialized and research-based curricula, LIFT offers educational workshops, information and referral services, on-going support, and even a resource library to teenagers, single adults, non-married parents, adults and children in stepfamilies, premarital couples, and married couples. The skills taught can be used as tools to strengthen almost any relationship. Although classes are taught regularly at Family Guidance Center’s Executive Park location, they can also be provided in schools, workplaces, churches, and other locations within the community. “Family Guidance Center has a lengthy history of providing services to strengthen families and we are excited to be selected as one of the partnering agencies to provide these helpful workshops and resources in the Montgomery area,” said Dr. Walter White, Executive Director.

The Alabama Community Healthy Marriage Initiative was developed in response to Alabama’s high divorce rate. According to figures released in 2003 by the U.S. Census Bureau, Alabama has one of the highest divorce rates in the nation, consistently ranking in the top 5 or top 10 for the past 62 years. The Alabama Community Healthy Marriage Initiative is a partnership of the Alabama Department of Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention, the Human Development and Family Studies department at Auburn University, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, and other organizations across Alabama like Family Guidance Center that wish to combat historically high levels of marital and family instability by providing access to relationship and marriage education programs to all of Alabama’s citizens.

The funding granted to Family Guidance Center is part of an on-going effort by the Alabama Community Healthy Marriage Initiative, a 5-year grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Family Assistance. Specifically, the grant aims to strengthen family bonds by raising public awareness of the importance of healthy marriages for child, family, and community well being; increasing access to healthy marriage resources; and training community members and professionals in methods of best practices for marriage initiatives.

The first FREE workshops begin January 16, 2008 and meet once per week for 6 weeks. Interested parties are encouraged to contact Family Guidance Center at (334) 270-4100 to enroll in an upcoming LIFT workshop or to find out more about the individual classes offered

Click here for more information about the Alabama Community Healthy Marriage Initiative.