Pro Bono Counseling (PBC), a nonprofit organization that links Marylanders experiencing difficulty accessing mental health care with volunteer licensed counselors and other resources, announces its participation as a host site for the inaugural class of Service Year Option and Maryland Corps members, a partnership with the Maryland Department of Service and Civic Innovation.

“The launch of the Service Year Option and Maryland Corps Program represents a renewed commitment to cultivating opportunities and inspiring a spirit of service in Maryland,” said Governor Wes Moore. “We’re not just launching programs; we’re connecting Marylanders to their communities and unlocking their potential in ways that will shape our collective future.”

“Pro Bono Counseling is proud to be a participant and partner in Maryland’s Service Program,” stated Executive Director Amy Greensfelder, LCSW.  “The program’s goal to create new pathways of service align with our organization’s values to provide the highest quality services through continual growth, education, and improvement.”

PBC is hosting MD Corps volunteer Tiffany Williams, who joins the organization working as a Clinical Assistant. In this role she is responsible for conducting client surveys to provide essential feedback on PBC services. She also presents client referrals to PBC volunteer clinicians and interacts with clients to provide them with their therapist’s contact information once they have been matched.

“Tiffany began working with our organization in October and has already proven to be a valuable member of the PBC clinical team,” said Clinical Director Sherri Bloom. “She is able to offer insights into our processes based upon her wide range of previous clinical work.”

Pro Bono Counseling (PBC), a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, was founded in 1991 to ensure that Marylanders with limited resources requesting mental health care are provided access to volunteer licensed mental health professionals and other necessary supportive services. Since then, PBC has helped match thousands of individuals and families throughout Maryland with the most appropriate counselors, based on their specific needs, and helped them obtain the mental health care they could not otherwise afford.

PBC serves anyone in Maryland who is facing difficulties paying for counseling – including individuals of all ages, as well as couples, and families– through connections to volunteer mental health therapists for free counseling to address mental health concerns, including stress, anxiety, sadness, grief, life transitions, relationship issues, or any other issue that can be addressed through therapy. PBC has a network of more than 800 volunteer licensed mental health counselors, covering a range of specialties, located all throughout Maryland. Counseling services are offered in person, where available, and via video conferencing and telephone.

About Maryland’s Service Year Option and Maryland Corps Programs:

The Service Year Option is a service opportunity for young adults who recently completed high school. Members earn at least $15 an hour and work at least 30 hours a week. Members gain both hard and soft skills through a service placement aligned with their area of interest, in addition to working with support coaches to develop and refine their post-service plans—whether they include college, career, or continued service.

Maryland Corps is a service opportunity for people of all ages. Like the Service Year Option, members earn a minimum of $15 dollars an hour working in organizations that provide job training and professional development. Program partnerships with both Maryland’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities and community colleges provide an additional level of collaboration and support for members, in addition to alignment with skilled trades and apprenticeship programs to facilitate transition into continued education or the workforce.

Following completion of their service year, participants in both programs will earn a completion award of $6,000 that may be accessed as a direct payment or as a deposit into a Maryland 529 Education Account for those pursuing their studies.

# # #

If you’d like to support PBC, please click here to make an online, tax-deductible gift.