About Us > History

History of People Reaching Out

In the summer of 1980, problems of youth drug and alcohol use in Fair Oaks Park catalyzed a group of community leaders to come together to study solutions to the problem. The group had representatives from business, schools, parks department, health services, parents, and the faith community. A community town hall meeting was held in September l980 to discuss the problem and seek possible solutions. 500 people attended the meeting. As a result of the meeting volunteers formed nine task forces to explore a variety of suggested solutions. One of the volunteer task forces, focusing on the prevention of youth drug problems, continued to meet every week for a year. This task force evolved into the agency, People Reaching Out.

People Reaching Out Today

People Reaching Out (PRO) is a community-based nonprofit. PRO was formed in 1981 in direct response to a critical lack in resources to deal with youth substance use and violence. Since its inception, PRO has refined and expanded its programs to reflect "state of the art" prevention strategies and address the many influences that put youth at risk. The goal is to promote a healthy community by empowering youth to make healthy choices, strengthening families to guide their children away from drugs and violence, and forming effective partnerships working together to build a strong community.

Approximately 3,000 youth and families are served through People Reaching Out's comprehensive programs each year and another 10,000 are reached through outreach efforts (community events, newsletters and volunteer recruitment). PRO's programs raise community awareness and promote civic participation. Each year, over 1,000 adult and youth volunteers contribute more than 30,000 hours of service supporting PRO's programs.