CLU center honors family advocate

Community Counseling Services at California Lutheran University presented an award to Ana Alvarez on Dec. 1 in recognition of her service to parents and children.

Alvarez, an outreach director for Conejo and Park Oaks elementary schools in Thousand Oaks, received the first Friends of the Community Counseling Services Award during the center’s Holiday Open House.

“Mrs. Alvarez’s dedication, her sense of social justice, compassion and courage have been a model for parents and capture the spirit of social activism on which the Community Counseling Services at CLU was founded nearly 25 years ago,” said Director Christopher Christian, Ph.D. “She is a steadfast advocate for disenfranchised children and parents of the Conejo Valley.”

Alvarez helps new families overcome language barriers and adjust to the new culture. She is so dedicated to helping children that she will go to their homes, get them dressed and take them to school. She also organizes parent education seminars, bilingual classes and programs that empower mothers and fathers.

“She is a wonderful and dedicated person who not only cares about the children but the whole family,” said Fiona Kilner, Director of Services for Many Mansions.

Community Counseling Services trains CLU students obtaining their Masters in Counseling Psychology with an Emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy while providing low-cost counseling for the public.

For more information about the award or the center, call (805) 493-3390.