Free counseling services for women offered at new center in Tampa

TAMPA - Kayla Boronell was struggling with life, but now she’s about to earn her master’s degree thanks in large part, she says, to free counseling provided by the Helen Gordon Davis Centre For Women in Tampa.

"Being able to receive affordable counseling has lifted a burden for me," Boronell told a group that gathered Monday for the grand opening of the new Kathy Castor Centre for Counseling and Wellness.

The center in Seminole Heights was built using $1.26 million in federal funding secured by Rep. Kathy Castor, for whom the facility is named, to expand behavioral health services with free counseling that can keep a problem from turning into a crisis.

Not only is there a newly remodeled counseling center near the corner of Sligh and Florida avenues, but it will be staffed by eight licensed counselors. Individual, group, and family counseling will be offered free of charge.

At Monday's ribbon-cutting, Castor said growing stress in our world can hit women particularly hard.

"Women are trying to do it all," she said. "They're trying to move up the career ladder. They're taking care of their families. They are running a household with little time left for themselves."

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Counselor Naischa Justin says some people don't seek counseling because they don't have the money. Services here are free.

"It could be as simple as self-care, anxiety, depression, things like that. It doesn’t necessarily mean that they need to have, like, a bigger issue for them to come to Counseling. Sometimes you just need someone to listen," Justin said.

To get counseling, call The Kathy Castor Centre for Counseling and Wellness at 813-210-9719 or email Counseling@thecentre.org.

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