About Guided Pathways – Support for Youth and Families

Our mission

We empower and support families and youth struggling with behavioral, emotional or substance abuse challenges in navigating resources to achieve wellness and resilience.

What We Believe

We value family voice, family choice. Youth and families have the right to speak and to make decisions about their behavioral health treatment. Youth and families have the right to know the full range of promotion of wellness and prevention options available to them. Family inclusion is fundamental to a strong and effective system of care.

Since GPS opened its doors in 2013, we’ve supported more than 1,400 youth and families and provided more than 7,000 services to struggling families in our community.

2013

year Guided Pathways Support opened

1,400+

youth & families supported

7,000+

services provided to struggling families

We offer support for families and their children in King County, giving one-to-one parent support to help guide parents through the System of Care while their child is having difficulty and during recovery from substance abuse disorders or mental health challenges.

We provide youth peer support to guide youth through their hard times and facilitate classes and support groups for both youth and parents.

The majority of these services are free of charge.

GPS is distinguished from other peer support programs by its primary focus being the parent/guardian rather than the child or youth. This allows GPS to provide family-driven peer support which has shown tremendous success for families and youth.

We encourage families and youth to determine their own desired outcomes. They may range from a reduction in suicidal ideation to housing security, from reduced truancy to access to mental health services, from improved parenting to reduction in running away. Our program is strength-based meaning that we help parents and youth identify their strengths and build on them to address their challenges.

How we started

Incorporated as a non-profit family support organization in July 2012, GPS grew out of the ongoing commitment to parent-to-parent and peer support in King County. In 2008 the Mental Illness and Drug Dependency (MIDD) Action Plan was adopted by the King County Council. Included in the plan’s strategies was peer support and parent partner assistance. In 2011, the County allocated MIDD funding to the startup of GPS. 

GPS is one of only six family peer support agencies in Washington and the only one in King County. Peer support results in the recovery and resilience for families suffering from substance use disorders, mental illness or behavioral health concerns.

Guided Pathways is a county-wide resource organization and is mission-driven to reach all families in need of our services in King County. We intend to do this through expansion of our geographic reach by serving families remotely and broadening our partnerships with school districts outside of south King County over the next few years.

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