About Us > History

History of People Reaching Out

In the summer of 1980, problems of youth drug and alcohol use in Fair Oaks Park catalyzed a group of community leaders to come together to study solutions to the problem. The group had representatives from business, schools, parks department, health services, parents, and the faith community. A community town hall meeting was held in September l980 to discuss the problem and seek possible solutions. 500 people attended the meeting. As a result of the meeting volunteers formed nine task forces to explore a variety of suggested solutions. One of the volunteer task forces, focusing on the prevention of youth drug problems, continued to meet every week for a year. This task force evolved into the agency, People Reaching Out.