Behavioral Health Services, Inc.

To Our Generous Future Donors,

Flossie Lewis's unwavering dedication to aiding women suffering from addiction and their families has left an indelible mark on the Long Beach community for three generations. Her journey began humbly, hosting the first support group for families of alcoholics in her own living room during the 1940s, long before the inception of Al-Anon and other similar support groups. Concurrently, she pioneered the establishment of the local 24-hour hotline in the early 1950s, offering a lifeline to those seeking recovery. In 1973, Behavioral Health Services, Inc. honored her legacy by inaugurating the Flossie Lewis Recovery Center. Dedicated to serving the recovery needs of women and their children, this center stands as a testament to Flossie's profound impact on countless lives.

After five decades of service and having supported thousands of women and their children our facility is no longer the new haven it once was. Despite leveraging various grant programs over the years to provide essential services, there remain critical needs beyond their scope. This is where donors like you have consistently stepped in, transforming the lives of countless families. Unfortunately, our current funding has fallen short in addressing repairs to our buildings and maintaining our grounds, necessities that directly impact the well-being of the women and children under our care. Compounded by the financial strain induced by COVID-19, our ability to carry out these crucial repairs has been severely compromised. Your support is urgently needed now more than ever to ensure our facility remains a safe and welcoming refuge for those in need.

Many of the women, mothers, and children we serve have endured lives marked by instability and fear. Flossie Lewis Recovery Center offers them a sanctuary where families can avert the heartbreaking prospect of separation and entry into the foster system, remain together in treatment, and heal together in recovery. We aim to provide surroundings that are not only calming and comforting, but also clean, safe, and representative of hope and joy – a springboard for their journey towards a new beginning. At this time, we are particularly seeking sponsorship to support the rebuilding of our Center’s playground. As one of few treatment centers serving low-income women concurrently with their children, the value of this structure is clear. Children of persons suffering from addiction experience higher rates of trauma, foster care placement, mental health, and medical health conditions than the general populations. These children are more likely to be without access to basic necessity, to be homeless, let alone to be without safe opportunities to play. It is evident in the research that play supports the formation of the safe, stable, and nurturing relationships between children and caregivers that children need to thrive, and that the mothers we serve need to heal and recover. In addition, we aim to garner sponsorship to support the program’s efforts in other needed repairs, including needed construction to rectify the damage caused by a flood in early 2023, and to support costs associated with other needed refurbishment, including to our Recovery Bridge Housing units which support women and family in maintaining long-term recovery, and aiming to reduce the epidemic of addiction and homelessness within our community.

For our clients, these improvements symbolize a hopeful path amidst uncertainty, and the promise of a clean start. Some of the steps along this path have grown worn with time. We humbly ask for your support in brightening these steps, illuminating the lives of the nearly 500 women and children we will serve in the coming year.

Yours in Service, 

Amanda Carnegie                                      

Divisional Director of Residential Treatment Services