Organization
CrossRoads Christian Counseling Centers was formed in 1998 when Central Presbyterian Church asked three local counselors to take over Central Christian Counseling Services. In the last 25 years, CrossRoads has grown into a non-profit with 30 counselors meeting the needs of a diverse client base with satellite offices in the St. Louis region, Austin, TX, and virtual counseling with missionaries around the world.
Partnership #1 (2022)
Alongside their church partners in University City and the low-income West End neighborhood, CrossRoads launched an initiative in 2016 called Families Flourishing, which provides faith-informed and evidence-based counseling to community residents in space provided by a local church and conducts parent support groups at a local elementary school. Crossroads also provides free mental health education to churches and community organizations designed to reduce stigma and equip these organizations to foster mental wellness. The Brown Sisters Foundation issued a challenge grant to attract new and increased donors to support the organization’s growth, and to support Crossroads’ efforts to replicate its Families Flourishing initiative in Ferguson, MO, working in partnership with local churches and nonprofit organizations.
Partnership #2 (2024)
In 2022, with the assistance of the Brown Sisters Foundation, CrossRoads expanded its Families Flourishing Initiative into North St. Louis City and County. They have sustained that initiative, serving 235 people in Ferguson last year. To provide more specialized and deeper levels of care to meet the needs of clients in North City/County, CrossRoads has the opportunity to expand available services by growing a team of culturally diverse counseling providers, adding therapeutic group options and bringing additional services like microcurrent neurofeedback, integrative nutrition and cooking classes, holistic psychiatry, and spiritual direction all under one roof at a central location in Ferguson. These types of therapies are typically not affordable or accessible for low and middle-income populations, but there is strong evidence that the combination of these treatment approaches is more effective than therapy alone. The Brown Sisters Foundation provided a challenge grant to support the growth of this program, as well as engage new and existing donors around the program.