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Featured Business Review: The Relational Center – For Those Alone in the Crowd
  by:  |  Sep 13, 2010
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Last updated on September 22nd, 2017 at 10:52 pm

The Relational CenterPeople who need people/ are the luckiest people in the world”

Your opinion of Barbara Streisand notwithstanding, we are undeniably social creatures like so many other members of the animal kingdom. We need others not only to survive in the physical sense, but also to be able to keep a hold on to what really makes us who and what we are – human.

Los Angeles presents a social conundrum. For an urban center with an estimated 17.8 million inhabitants, an outsider might think that there would be no lack of opportunities for interaction. Unfortunately, it’s not an ideal world. There is no one who doesn’t need a friend, or at least someone who understands where they are coming from. Many, for one reason or another, are paralyzed with crushing loneliness… alone in a city of millions.

Fortunately there is at least one group that is seeking to change all this. Mark Fairfield, Executive Director of The Relational Center explains “Our work is organized around the assumption that human beings have a fundamental need to strive together in collective action. In fact, the more we try to overcome complex problems by ourselves, the more we suffer. Our hope lies in our capacity to depend on each other and share responsibility for sustaining ourselves, our families, our environments, and our futures…[we offer] a range of programs that build community to stimulate health and wellness for adults, children, families, helping professionals and organizations. ”

The Relational Center (TRC) was founded as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 2007 and opened its doors on January, the following year. At first, they had a focus on “the marginalized and impoverished residents of the Los Angeles metropolitan area who were in greatest need of community and connection.” Fairfield recounts “We offered counseling to adults, couples, youth and families” he adds. The non-profit group provided counseling and also had a psychiatrist that allowed the group to provide medication when needed. Support groups were also created, each catering specifically to the participants’ needs.TRC

This wasn’t the only way they were able to cater to the needs of the less fortunate. The Relational Center also offered a training program for those in the healthcare industry to help participants in handling the social aspects of their work, including training on cultural sensitivity and advocacy work.. Later on, TRC added consultancy services for other groups interested in improving the flow of their businesses by improving aspects of social interaction among their members.

Today, assorted counseling, training, and consultancy services form the core of what The Relational Center does. People of all stripes and orientations have benefited from TRC’s charitable work. What makes it all the more fascinating is that it gets by on donations and the volunteer spirit. It runs on as Fairfield says “reusable human energy” he continues “Every person involved in our community is giving back as much as he or she is taking. This principle of “paying forward” whatever benefits are received has enabled this organization to survive and grow despite extremely challenging circumstances. You can count on us to recycle resources until they are completely exhausted. Nothing goes to waste.”Staff of The Relational Center

The Recreational Center has partnered with UPrinting through our UCommunity Nonprofit Sponsorship program.. Our partnership has allowed TRC access to top notch printing services at an affordable cost – expanding TRC’s reach, ensuring that many in need find brighter days ahead.

Fairfield notes “We have always been satisfied with the products UPrinting has provided to help us communicate about our mission and activities with high-quality, professional materials.  When we had the opportunity to become a partner of UPrinting, it made sense to us given how consistent our positive experience has been” On his experience with the UCommunity program, he relates “We have benefited already from the UCommunity Program and look forward to our continued relationship with UPrinting… We always recommend UPrinting as an affordable, high-quality solution particularly for organizations in the non-profit sector whose budgets do not allow for high-priced design and print solutions.”

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