Diane Strickler began the presentation by talking about the origin and history of the Family Center and then introduced the new Executive Director, Patty Sunisloe.
Diane’s last vocational talk was 15 years ago. She started her career as a nurse and working in emergency rooms triggered a passion for prevention. This led to her receiving a masters in social work. After moving to GP in 1997, Diane started the Family Center in 2000.
One of the first obstacles the Center ran into was getting the very private GP residents to talk about topics that they wanted to avoid. They did this by providing online counselors and mentors that people could choose on their own and by videotaping presentations that could be watched at home. In the past few years, talks about topics like substance abuse and suicide have been more readily accepted.
Ms. Sunisloe has taken the reins as the Center has regrouped. Its vision is to be the first source for building resilient families to ensure thriving communities. They have great programs coming up on suicide prevention, the developing brain, and aging. To see the schedule, learn more, or make a donation, please go to www.familycenterweb.org.