The Nurture Place awarded $150,000 from West Orange Healthcare District

The Nurture Place was recently awarded $150,000 from West Orange Healthcare District and it plans to use the gift to establish a permanent home in West Orange County. 

The Nurture Place was first founded in 2019 as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with the mission to expand access to care for children, families and the community.

The non-profit will now have the opportunity to continue fueling that mission with its purchase of a property in the heart of Winter Garden which will serve to provide mental-health counseling and wellness programming for children and families in the area. 

“We are grateful for our partnership with the West Orange Healthcare District, especially at a time when the need for mental-health services is on the rise,” said The Nurture Place executive director Angela Gonzalez. “The District grant will allow us to establish permanent roots in our community and continue to grow and expand our support for local families.” 

With the help of the gift, The Nurture Place has officially launched a capital campaign with the hopes of raising $1 million for the project. 

The non-profit used a portion of the funds to buy its new home at 721 Vineland Road and  the remaining funds will be used to design and build a new 3,000 square-foot facility and support future programming. 

Although The Nurture Place is known for its individual and family counseling, the program also provides group experiences that focus on social-emotional growth, increase family resilience and strengthen secure attachments between caregivers and children, according to a press release from The Nurture Place. The programming is designed to prevent future trauma, abuse and neglect, as well as reduce the effects of social stressors such as poverty, racism and the pandemic.

With the new space, the non-profit plans to serve 650 families a year. 

“There’s an abundance of evidence-based research that shows a person’s overall wellbeing is greatly affected by their mental and emotional health,” said West Orange Healthcare District CEO Tracy Swanson. “Many families in our community are facing socioeconomic challenges compounded by 18 months and counting of a global pandemic. We need mental-health providers like The Nurture Place now more than ever.”