Transforming California’s System of Care for 150 Years
Pacific Clinics has evolved over 150 years to deliver the most visionary behavioral health services to deliver innovative behavioral health services to individuals of all ages across California. We began in 1867 as Eastfield Home of Benevolence, a San Jose orphanage, and Ming Quong Home, an orphanage for neglected and abandoned Chinese girls. In 1880, Hollygrove was founded in downtown Los Angeles as the Los Angeles Orphans Home Society.
Today, we are one of the most comprehensive, innovative, treatment programs providing services to more than 25,000 individuals. Learn more about our history of making a positive difference.
1867 - Roots in San Jose
Eastfield Home of Benevolence founded in San Jose.
1874 - Branching Off to San Francisco
Presbyterian Mission Home founded in San Francisco.
1880 - Establishing in Los Angeles
Hollygrove founded in downtown Los Angeles as the Los Angeles Orphans Home Society.
1910 - Hollywood
Hollygrove moves to its current location in Hollywood.
1926 - First Clinic Opens
Pacific Clinics opens its first clinic under its original name, Pasadena Child Guidance.
1935 - Marilyn Monroe Comes to Hollygrove
Norma Jean Baker, also known as Marilyn Monroe comes to live at Hollygrove. Ming Quong opens another orphanage for younger girls in the hills of Los Gatos.
1950s - Expansion of Services
Hollygrove provides residential services for abused and neglected children removed from their families by court order.
1953 - Audience Served Now includes Boys
Ming Quong enrolls boys and needy children of all races and becomes independent of the Presbyterian Church.
1955 - A Promising Beginning
With support from family, friends and the USO, Shirley Weiss establishes Portals, a halfway house for veterans released from the Veterans Affairs Hospital Psychiatric Ward.
1956 - Intern Training Program Launches
Pacific Clinics’ nationally recognized training program serves bachelors, masters and doctorate level interns.
1965 - “Psychosocial Rehabilitation”
Portals establishes first clubhouse west of the Mississippi.
1967 - Employment Services Begin
Pacific Clinics partners with the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health and the Department of Rehabilitation to begin offering employment services.
1973 - Adult Services Launches
The first adult services counseling program begins.
1973 - Becoming a Contract Agency
Portals becomes a contract agency with the Los Angeles Department of Mental Health and is selected to provide psychosocial services.
1978 - Portals Launches Social Enterprise
Portals launches Hodge Podge Thrift Shop, its first social enterprise and offer employment training and opportunities.
1980 - Apartment Program Initiative
A master-leased apartment program is created to prepare individuals to live on their own in the community.
1982 - Mariposa Transitional Residence
The Mariposa Transitional Residence opens to provide short-term housing within a structured, supervised environment to prepare members to live independently.
1985 - Project Double Trudgers
Created to address the unique needs of individuals co-occurring substance abuse disorders.
1986 - Asian Pacific Family Center Opens
The Asian Pacific Family Center opens to serve the diverse needs of extended Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.
1987 - Rebrands as Pacific Clinics
The new name better reflects broader services for all ages.
1987 - EMQ Children and Family Services
Eastfield & Ming Quong merge (Eastfield Ming Quong), later to be called EMQ Children & Family Services.
1991 - First MILES Conference
Pacific Clinics hosts the First Annual MILES (Mental Illness and Law Enforcement Systems) Conference to bring together law enforcement and mental health professionals to create better solutions for police officers interacting with mentally ill individuals in the field.
1994 - First Wraparound Program
EMQ launches California’s first wraparound program.
1995 - Dual Diagnosis Services
Pacific Clinics begins to address co-occurring substance abuse and mental health illness.
1996 - Pacific Clinics Training Institute Opens
Pacific Clinics Training Institute (PCTI) opens to provide training and education to mental health professionals, paraprofessionals, and the community.
1996 - Twin Peaks Residential Program
Twin Peaks Co-Occurring Disorder Residential Program offers a 24-hour recovery program for mentally ill adults with substance abuse disorders.
1996 - Homeless & Housing Services
Passageways Homeless Multi-Service Center opens in Pasadena to house homeless individuals while they receive mental health counseling and substance abuse treatment services.
1997 - Multicultural Programs Launch
Hye-Wrap, a school-based initiative, launches to engage Armenian youth to heal trauma from war. In addition, the Latino Family Center opens and the Transitional Age Youth program launches to serve youth ages 16-25 transitioning from the foster care system.
1999 - Giarretto Institute Acquired
EMQ acquires San Jose-based child sexual abuse treatment pioneer Giarretto Institute and begins providing Wraparound services in the Sacramento area.
2001 - Transitional Age Youth (TAY) Program
Transitional Age Youth (TAY) Program is initiated to provide mental health services, job training and educational opportunities for young adults 18-21 with mental illness who are transitioning out of foster care.
2002 - Expansion into San Bernardino County
EMQ expands into Southern California, opening a wraparound program in San Bernardino County. Pacific Clinics opens the first Inland Empire Clubhouse Program further expanding the agency’s continuum of care.
2004 - Mental Health Services Act (MHSA)
Pacific Clinics shapes the language of and helps to pass Prop 63/Mental Health Services Act (MHSA). MHSA addresses broad prevention, early intervention, and service needs.
2005 - Community-Based Services
Hollygrove closes its residential program to concentrate on community-based mental health services.
2006 - Hollygrove and EMQ Merge
Hollygrove and EMQ merge.
2007 - Pacific Clinics and Portals Merge
Portals, a psychosocial rehabilitation agency serving South Los Angeles, merges with Pacific Clinics.
2008 - Health Navigation
Pacific Clinics partners with University of Southern California to launch an innovative program to empower individuals with mental illness to self-manage their healthcare.
2009 - EMQ and FamiliesFirst Merge
EMQ and FamiliesFirst merge to create EMQ FamiliesFirst.
2013 - Head Start/Early Head Start Launches
Pacific Clinics expands to support young children ages 0-5 through Head Start and Early Head Start.
2015 - Crisis Stabilization Unit Opens
Uplift Family Services helps Bay Area children and teens on a psychiatric hold receive short-term emergency assessment and stabilization instead of going to the hospital.
2016 - Rebrand to Uplift Family Services
EMQ FamiliesFirst becomes Uplift Family Services.
2017 - Conferences Hosted
Pacific Clinics hosted multiple conferences this year that reached milestone anniversaries including the 20th Annual Latino Mental Health Conference, 26th Annual MILES Conference and Asian Pacific Family Center’s 30th Anniversary Symposium.
2019 - First Professional Parent Cottage Opens
Uplift Family Services opens its first professional parent cottage on their Los Gatos campus, serving teens in Santa Clara County.
2020 - Rampart House Renovation
Through the generosity of donors including the S. Mark Taper Foundation, The Ahmanson Foundation, and The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, the completion of the renovation project at S. Mark Taper Rampart House ensures that Pacific Clinics can continue addressing urgent housing and behavioral health needs of clients.
2020 - Pacific Clinics and Uplift Family Services Respond to the Pandemic
To address the challenges of the pandemic, Pacific Clinics and Uplift Family Services secured equipment to provide services through telehealth, prepared sites to follow CDC guidelines and assembled care packages including diapers, food, household supplies and educational toys for families and children.
2020 - Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic Partnership
As part of a $4MM grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Pacific Clinics, in partnership with Uplift Family Services and School Health Clinics of Santa Clara County, will form a consortium to become a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC).
2020 - sABA and CFT Programs Launch
The sABA (Specialty Applied Behavior Analysis) program serves those with autism and CFT (Child and Family Team) facilitates meetings for families with Sacramento County Child Protective Services.
2022 - Becoming Better Together
Pacific Clinics and Uplift Family Services merge into California’s largest community-based behavioral health provider.