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Stories

Faced with a rising need for mental health and substance misuse care, Lakeview Center has grown with our community since 1954. Each year, we serve more than 29,000 adults and children in Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton counties.

Some of these stories of growth and success – for our team members and those we serve – are below.

All interview requests must be made through the Marketing and Communications department. For assistance, please call 850-503-8164 or e-mail [email protected] or [email protected].

older woman smiling for the future
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3rd Annual Landrum 5K to benefit Lakeview Center

Runners, walkers and advocates for mental health are invited to take part in the Landrum 5K Run/Walk on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. The race kicks off at 8 a.m. from the Landrum office in downtown Pensacola, located at 219 E. Garden Street. Proceeds from the event will benefit Lakeview Center, which last year served more than 27,000 children and adults facing mental illness, substance […]

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Professional growth journey: Joyce Scott

For Joyce Scott, serving as an administrative coordinator at LifeView Group—parent company of Lakeview Center, FamiliesFirst Network and Global Connections to Employments—is more than a job, it’s a calling. Stationed at the front desk of LifeView Group’s administrative building in Pensacola, she is the first welcoming face many clients see and the first reassuring voice […]

Behavioral Health Technician Manager Jen McDonald TMOQ

Jen McDonald named Lakeview Center Team Member of the Quarter

Jen McDonald, Behavioral Health technician manager, manages Cabot Heights – Lakeview Center’s foster care group home for teenage boys – but has also stepped in over the past three months to support the girls’ home, Arcadia Place. Jen is fully invested in the children of both homes, often working evenings and weekends to celebrate their […]

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Growing professionally: Jasmin White

When Jasmin White first started at Lakeview Center in 2014, she thought it would be a short-term job. Instead, what started as “just a job” quickly grew into a calling. “I actually enjoyed the work and showing up every day,” Jasmin said. “When clients come back months later to check in and thank me, it’s […]

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Shannon Spann named director of Central Access at Lakeview Center

Pensacola, Fla. (July 30, 2025) – Lakeview Center has named Shannon Spann, LCSW, as the new director of Central Access. With more than a decade of experience in behavioral health and a strong record of leadership in child and family services, Spann will oversee a vital program that connects individuals and families to the mental […]

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Kenithia’s journey as a CHIPS foster parent

For nearly a decade, Kenithia Brewington has opened her heart and home to children through Lakeview Center’s CHIPS (Changing Horizons through Innovative Parenting Systems) program. Her passion for fostering stems from personal experience—having been raised by her uncle for part of her childhood, Kenithia understands the feeling of being separated from a biological parent. “I […]

Roberts journey as an adult foster parent

Robert’s journey as a CIRCLE adult foster parent

“I actually got tricked into becoming an adult foster parent,” Robert Gulley laughs. “A friend convinced me to come to a Lakeview Center training years ago—and I’ve been doing it ever since.” Now 76 years old and a retired Navy veteran, Robert has spent the last 15 years caring as a foster parent through Lakeview […]

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Growing professionally: Hailey Vasick

When Hailey Vasick joined Lakeview Center in 2017, she was finishing her bachelor’s degree at the University of West Florida and looking for the right direction to begin her career. Eager to make an impact, she started as a behavioral health technician at DAART, Lakeview’s former residential facility for teens with substance use. Though she […]

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Growing professionally: Pam Smith

Pam Smith walked into Lakeview Center 55 years ago not knowing she would help shape the organization into what it is today. What started as a role answering the crisis line turned into a decades-long journey of leadership, service and professional growth. This July, Pam transitions into retirement, closing one of the most impactful chapters […]