Oakland Family Services opens new office in Walled Lake
Oakland Family Services is excited to announce the opening of our new Walled Lake office location at 1885 N. Pontiac Trail. The building’s opening was delayed due to coronavirus pandemic, but is now open to in-person services.
The east side of the building has been home to the agency’s Walled Lake Children’s Learning Center since the preschool and child care center was opened in 2015.
When the previous occupant of the west side of the building ended its lease in 2020, Oakland Family Services jumped on the opportunity to move in its other Walled Lake services, which had been located on E. West Maple Road. The new location now houses Day One and Specialized Services for Youth counseling services.
“One of our biggest goals at Oakland Family Services to provide integrated, holistic care for individuals and families,” said President and CEO Jaimie Clayton. “Many of those we serve take advantage of more than one of the programs we offer. Merging our Walled Lake locations into this one location allows us to conveniently provide multiple services all under one roof to better serve the community.”
As part of the move, Oakland Family Services performed a large renovation to the building that included a complete layout redesign with the help of Cunningham-Limp. It now boasts 15 offices where there used to be four, three spaces for large group meetings and a new lobby.
The agency worked closely with a group of master’s level interns from University of Detroit Mercy who provided consultation on the building’s interior design as part of a research assignment. They explored ways to make the design trauma-informed, engaging and welcoming for both clients and employees and made recommendations on color schemes, furniture placement and artwork selection.
“It was a very intentional process, and each artwork that we picked had an intention behind it and some symbolism and how we thought it might work with certain clientele,” said Julie Mison, vice president of employee engagement and organizational development.
For example, blues and greens were chosen to evoke confidence and calmness, and artwork featuring nature was selected to reflect calmness, hope, growth and healing. Each office is arranged to minimize barriers between the client and the clinician, create a sense of partnership and help clients who may have experienced past trauma feel safe and engaged, Mison said.
In addition to Walled Lake, Oakland Family Services continues to offer services from offices in Pontiac and Berkley, as well as virtual services including online counseling.
