History
Port Alert, the former name of Port Counseling Center, Inc. was founded in 1970 as a result of a grassroots movement by townspeople in the late 1960's, when as a result of the Vietnam War and the Hippie Movement, there was an increase and a rise of substance abuse in the middle class.
As a result of many crises in the school systems in Nassau County, dangerous substances were frequently found to be used by our children. So concerned citizens made an informal attempt to do something in response, i.e., to establish a community center such as Port Alert which would serve as a not-for-profit agency providing information and education regarding drug abuse and addiction.
In its early years, Port Alert mainly served adolescents by providing an alternative place to gather and which encouraged a drug-free lifestyle with recreational activities in addition to counseling.
In later years, when fiscal viability became an issue, Port Alert became Port Counseling Center, Inc. and began to counsel adults who paid a fee and/or whose insurance reimbursed a portion of their fee. In order to accomplish this, Port Counseling Center, Inc. became a professional agency hiring counselors who had advanced degrees in Social Work (Masters in Social Work) and some had additional post graduate training.
From 1982 to 1994, under the direction of the Clinical Supervisor, who had an MSW, Institute training and a Ph.D. in Clinical Social Work, Port Counseling Center, Inc. treated clients not only who were substance abusers but also treated residents for depression and anxiety.
Since 1995, when a new Clinical Supervisor was hired, with extensive substance abuse treatment experience, Port Counseling Center, Inc. gradually became a state of the art, outpatient chemical dependency treatment agency, with varied modalities, with a more intensive approach to treatment, and with an on-site self-help component.
