The organization that was to become Family Service Agency of Marin first began in 1943 as a USO-Traveler's Aid Unit, created to meet the emergency needs of the thousands of war workers who arrived from all over the country to work in the Marin City shipyards during World War II. Later, its first director, Mrs. Marie Larson, a social worker, drew together an "Operating Committee," providing services to ease the acute wartime crises in families. Marin City residents turned to the organization for counseling, financial and employment assistance.
The war ended and the national Traveler's Aid concluded that its services were no longer required in Marin City. However, the staff and residents of Marin City disagreed. They rallied community support, and in 1945 the former Traveler's Aid Unit re-emerged as Family Service Agency of Marin. In 1947, Mrs. Larson stated that the problems of the agency's clients, in order of frequency were: marital problems, child behavior, "social maladjustment," housing, unemployment, and "unmarried single mothers." Early funders of the young agency were the Red Cross, the Housing Authority, NAACP, and most significantly, the Community Chest.
In 1953, the United Bay Area Crusade (an early precursor of United Way) was formed, replacing the Marin Community Chest. In 1954, responding to community needs, the agency began the process of developing a professionally staffed family counseling organization serving the entire county of Marin. This expansion gave the Marin population services that were comparable to those available in other communities under the United Bay Area crusade.
In 1956, the Junior League adopted FSA as a major project and by 1959 had established the Family Service League. This auxiliary was created to provide the agency with broader county recognition and financial support. Its second hand shop, "The Family Store," is as invaluable today as it was when it was created over forty years ago.
During the 1960's, the agency became a major provider of family counseling services in Marin County with a highly trained staff of social work counselors. In 1967, it founded the Institute of the Family, providing research, studies and education to therapists learning the new skills emerging from the family therapy movement. The institute became the parent for what is now an independent Marin organization, the Family Therapy Institute. FSA continues its tradition of high-quality training with one of the most comprehensive training programs for clinical counseling in the Bay Area.
In the 1960's, FSA became one of the first agencies in the United States to provide family therapy. In the 1970's, the agency expanded its vision to include geriatric and minority outreach, developed a parent-child communication course (SHARE), high school peer counseling program (SHOULDERS), and many other services relevant to the changing times. Among them: groups for single mothers and fathers, career counseling workshops, and divorce adjustment groups for children.
Today, FSA works hard to ensure its services are culturally relevant and cost effective. Through a series of strategic mergers in the last dozen years, including joining with Childhood Trauma Program, Pregnancy and Early Parenting Center, and Suicide Prevention and Community Counseling, the agency continues to increase its ability to provide effective management, efficient fund raising, and quality services to the families of Marin.
