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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.

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older woman smiling for the future
amy gokey headshot

Amy Gokey has been named Lakeview Center Team Member of the Year

For nearly two decades, Amy Gokey has dedicated her career to strengthening mental health and substance use services in the communities Lakeview Center serves. Today, as director of the Friary Pensacola, Amy oversees a comprehensive set of counseling programs designed to support adults at some of life’s most critical moments. “The Friary Pensacola is an […]

LifeView Group designated a 2026 Military Friendly® Employer

LifeView Group designated a 2026 Military Friendly® Employer

Pensacola, Fla. (Dec. 17, 2025) – Lakeview Center’s parent company, LifeView Group, has earned the 2026 Military Friendly® Employer designation, marking the organization’s fourth consecutive year receiving this honor. This recognition underscores LifeView Group’s ongoing commitment to supporting the military and veteran community through hiring, career advancement and comprehensive services. As a nonprofit family of […]

Covenant Care awards $567,305 to Lakeview Center

Covenant Care awards $567,305 to Lakeview Center, sustaining psychiatry access for Pensacola’s uninsured

Pensacola, Fla. (Dec. 10, 2025) –  Lakeview Center, Northwest Florida’s most comprehensive behavioral health provider, has been awarded $567,305 from Covenant Care Foundation to sustain essential psychiatry services for uninsured adults living with mental illness and substance use disorders. The grant will provide funding and support for three psychiatric nurse practitioners, who will provide care […]

Team member of the quarter Austin Witt

Austin Witt named Lakeview Center Team Member of the Quarter

Austin Witt has been named Lakeview Center’s Team Member of the Quarter for his compassion, professionalism and unwavering dedication to the people he serves. Lori Clapsadl, risk and compliance program manager, shared that Austin “works very hard to consistently deliver compassionate and meaningful services.” She added that his ability to truly understand clients on a […]

LifeView Group earns CARF’s highest accreditation

LifeView Group earns CARF’s highest accreditation

Pensacola, Fla. (Sept. 24, 2025) – LifeView Group—parent company of Lakeview Center, FamiliesFirst Network, and Global Connections to Employment—has earned a three-year accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), the highest level of achievement awarded by the organization. This milestone reflects LifeView Group’s unwavering commitment to quality, person-centered care and continuous improvement […]

Opioid Abatement Grant to support pregnant women and mothers in residential addiction treatment

$76,000 Opioid Abatement Grant to support pregnant women and mothers in residential addiction treatment

DeFuniak Springs, Fla. (Sept. 15, 2025) – Lakeview Center has been awarded $76,000 in opioid abatement funding from Walton County’s Opioid and Substance Use Disorder Grants Committee. The grant will provide essential support to Lakeview Center’s JoAnn Birge Women and Children’s Center—particularly for the infants and young children who stay with their mothers during residential […]

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 […]

Julius Roulhac headshot

Julius Roulhac named Lakeview Center Team Member of the Quarter

Julius Roulhac, therapeutic mentor supervisor with the Community Action Treatment (CAT) Team in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, has been named Lakeview Center’s Team Member of the Quarter for his extraordinary dedication to children and families, and for living our values of “take care of each other” and “never settle.” His ability to build meaningful […]

Ranked #7 on Top 100 Women-led Businesses in Florida

Ranked #7 on Top 100 Women-led Businesses in Florida

Pensacola, Fla. (May 21, 2025) – LifeView Group, parent company of Lakeview Center, has been ranked No. 7 on The Women’s Edge’s 2025 list of the Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Florida. The annual list recognizes both nonprofit and for-profit organizations led by prominent female executives across the state. This is the fourth consecutive year […]