t was 1974 when Richard Nixon became the first U.S. president to resign from office, Stephen King’s novel Carrie horrified readers and teenagers danced to disco music in platform shoes.

That same year, Outreach Teen & Family Services opened a small office that looked like a living room in Central Square on Washington Road. There, students could drop in to talk about their problems with a counselor or a volunteer.

The new organization, then called Outreach South, was progressive and proactive.

“Counselors went out to talk to students who were skipping class,” said Mary Birks, the executive director of Outreach who marked 10 years in that role in October.

Birks added.

Back then, Mt. Lebanon Police Chief David Varrelman was determined to prevent adolescents from going to jail or reform school.

Now 92 and living in Stafford, Virginia, Varrelman recalled that he had spent three years as a consultant to the International Association of Chiefs of Police before coming to Mt. Lebanon in 1972. And before that, he said in a telephone interview, he investigated sex crimes involving juveniles for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Under Varrelman’s leadership, Mt. Lebanon police forged an alliance with Outreach to ensure that teenagers and families got help as soon as possible, a partnership that continues 50 years later.

Varrelman’s goal was “to make sure we were meeting the kids where they were,” Birks said.

In the early days, a prominent social worker, Marshall Gordon, wrote lots of grant applications for Outreach while Stanley Marshall, an advertising executive and marketing consultant, handled the organization’s finances.

“A lot of people were driven to make this work … and we’ve sustained it for years,” Birks said.

Jason Haberman, the current Mt. Lebanon police chief, said it’s unusual for a police department to have such a longstanding relationship with a counseling agency and that Varrelman was a visionary. Each month, either Haberman or Deputy Police Chief Dan Cuiffi attend Outreach board meetings and refer people to the organization.

The other key partner is the municipality, which provides about $100,000 of Outreach’s annual budget of $500,000.

Today, Outreach employs 10 therapists and serves people in nearly 40 zip codes in Allegheny and Washington counties. It also offers teenagers a platform far more powerful than any footwear designed to make people feel taller and more confident on the dance floor.

It’s called Teens Tap In, a monthly podcast where high school students talk with peers and adults about the challenges to maintaining good mental health, such as anxiety, as well as practical ways to manage time and take better care of yourself. The podcast, which began in 2021, was the brainchild of Sydney Saba and Caroline Cozzens, who served on the junior board at Outreach.

In the most recent podcast, Kate Yang, a 17-year-old senior at Mt. Lebanon High School, talked with Brian Cuban about his decades-long struggle with alcoholism, bulimia and depression.

Joining the conversation was Maggie Zangara, a program manager and outpatient therapist employed at Outreach for four years.

Cuban, an attorney with a law degree from the University of Pittsburgh, grew up in Mt. Lebanon, suffering silently while classmates bullied him for being overweight. Sober since 2007, he manages the Fallen Patriot Fund, a Dallas-based charity started by his better-known brother, Mark.

“Hearing stories from people you have a direct connection to is really powerful,” Yang said.

And those kinds of conversations are essential for members of “The Anxious Generation,” a phrase used by social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, author of a bestselling book about how, around 2010, the use of mobile phones, instead of play, began ruining childhood for American children.

While peer pressure is nothing new, Yang said it starts in middle school.

she said, adding that when she was a middle school student, Lululemon leggings, which cost $100 a pair, were de rigueur among her classmates.

The pervasiveness of mobile phones, Yang said, means “There’s no off switch anymore. If you choose not to participate, you’re the only one who’s not informed.”

With Zangara’s help, Yang spent her summer internship at Outreach planning an “Awe Walk for Mental Health” through Bird Park on the last Saturday in August. Participants were urged to put away their phones so they could appreciate nature. St. Clair Health, which sponsors the Teens Tap In podcast, provided a coffee truck and the Mt. Lebanon Conservancy provided a trail map and told walkers what to look for in the park.

The hourlong walk in Bird Park makes people aware of the services Outreach provides.

But the daily work of helping children, teenagers and families happens in a quiet, ground floor suite of the Executive Building on Washington Road, where counselors meet with clients whose ages range from 5 to 21. All counseling is confidential and no one is turned away if they cannot afford to pay. Parents who are concerned about their child’s behavior can schedule a free counseling session. Because of the municipality’s strong support, Mt. Lebanon residents can receive their first two individual sessions for free, and subsequent sessions at a reduced rate.

When Birks joined Outreach in 2014, she drafted a plan to seek more funding from local philanthropies. She also had a personal connection to the nonprofit.

“My brother and sister were clients here,” she recalled during the monthly podcast that drops on the PodBean platform on the third Thursday of each month. After Birks took over, she realized that donors needed to be celebrated more and thanked often, because supporters keep the organization operating and expanding.

“We provide affordable and accessible connection, education counseling and coaching to children, teens and families. Those community advocates are important to what we do,” Birks said.

At the Mt. Lebanon Public Library, Zangara leads a series of periodic mental health meetups.

Another program Outreach offers at its offices is STEP —  Systematic Training for Effective Parenting —  geared to parents whose children are tweens or teenagers.

“If you see your child struggling or not enjoying activities they usually enjoyed … If they seem sad, shut down or don’t want to talk, we do offer free parent consultations,” Birks said.

Tammy Janero, a PNC Bank executive who lives in Canonsburg, served two terms on the Outreach Board for a total of six years.

Janero says the nonprofit has grown because Birks has brought “such passion and energy to the organization.” Janero noted that Birks obtained a contract with the municipality of Bethel Park and its school district to offer Outreach services.

Janero said the board’s reach has expanded because board members are drawn not just from Mt. Lebanon but also from Upper St. Clair and Peters Township.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Janero said, counselors were able to do online counseling because a generous grant from BNY Mellon paid for laptops to do teletherapy and a two-year grant of nearly $200,000 from the Staunton Farm Foundation allowed Outreach to expand its programs in the South Hills.

“That allowed us to be there for the community. It’s hard to find a therapist,” said Janero, a senior vice president and director in PNC Bank’s strategic transformation and business management office.

Even today, Janero said, more people need to place a higher value on counseling.

“We’re still fighting a battle against the mindset that says it’s OK to take your kid out of school to see a doctor or a dentist but not a therapist. Parents don’t give it the same weight.”