Waccamaw Center for Mental Health

Our History

From its' beginning, the Center has focused on bringing services to the geographic areas where clients are located, rather than having one central location. We continue to by and be a "Mental Health Center Without Walls". The Center philosophy also includes partnerships with agencies and clients in the development of programming. Services to children, adolescents, and families is a focus of the Center, and is reflected in the fact that close to 50% of the clients we serve are under the age of eighteen.

The population served by Waccamaw is unique: Tourism is the largest industry in our area, and we receive no funding either from the State or locally to serve the millions of transients (including tourists) who come through the area each year. (They are not counted in population statistics which forms the basis for funding.) This includes an increased population of as many as 450 to 500 thousand people on a single weekend. The impact on the demand for crisis, emergency, and inpatient care is significant.