Foothill Family Awarded Prestigious LEED Green Building Certification

Foothill Family builds brighter futures not only by empowering community members to overcome challenges and achieve success in relationships, school, and work, but also through sustainable environmental practices. Following months of renovation, Foothill Family’s Duarte Center has been awarded LEED® Gold certification.

When Foothill Family opened its Duarte Center in 2008, it occupied only the second floor of a bank building at 1801 Huntington Drive. Since then, the center has served thousands of children and families, focusing on early childhood development, parent education, and school- and community-based clinical, emotional, and behavioral support services, among other programs.

When the 12,100-square-foot property became available to purchase in 2014, Foothill Family carefully assessed the site’s potential to help meet the region’s growing demand for services in the eastern San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys.

“The investment in environmentally conscious renovations to the Duarte Center reinforces the Foothill Family mission of building brighter futures,” said Steve Allen, Foothill Family Chief Executive Officer. “We believe that healthy families are the foundation of strong communities, and environmental sustainability is tantamount to every community’s thriving future.”

The Foothill Family Duarte Center re-opened in May 2015 with double the space including 12 individual therapy rooms, three family therapy and support group meeting rooms, two Parent-Child Interaction Therapy rooms, and two intake rooms. In addition, the building features expanded staff and office space, children’s activity center, health screening room, and community spaces, including a featured meeting room available for use by community partners.

The Duarte Center achieved LEED certification for implementing practical and measurable strategies and solutions aimed at achieving high performance in: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.

The LEED rating system, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), is the foremost program for buildings, homes, and communities that are designed, constructed, maintained and operated for improved environmental and human health performance.

“Buildings are a prime example of how human systems integrate with natural systems,” said Rick Fedrizzi, CEO and founding chair, USGBC. “The Foothill Family Duarte Center project efficiently uses our natural resources and makes an immediate, positive impact on our planet, which will tremendously benefit future generations to come.”

Foothill Family was founded in 1926 and provides a range of community-based mental health and social services to at-risk populations in the San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys, Glendale, and Burbank. Foothill Family Service has earned a reputation for providing high-quality services aimed at empowering families and strengthening communities. Programs include mental health and school-based counseling for children, child abuse prevention and treatment, domestic violence prevention and treatment, early child development programs, services for pregnant teens and their babies, family counseling, and youth development. Last year, more than 22,000 children and their families benefited from Foothill Family Service’s life-changing programs. For more information, please call (626) 993-3000 or visit the website at www.foothillfamily.org.