La Frontera Center - South Tucson Clinic
La Frontera Arizona is a community resource serving Tucsonans in need.
About La Frontera Center - South Tucson Clinic
La Frontera Center - South Tucson Clinic is part of La Frontera Arizona, a nonprofit community behavioral health organization serving Tucson and residents across Pima County. La Frontera's work is centered on providing accessible behavioral health and substance abuse services to people who may face economic challenges or other barriers to care. Its programs serve children, adolescents, and adults, with services addressing substance abuse, co-occurring disorders, and serious mental illness.
La Frontera Center was founded in 1968, during the early stages of the community mental health movement, as one of the original 947 community mental health centers established in the United States. The organization began with five staff members working from a storefront in a Tucson area experiencing high unemployment, low educational attainment, a high arrest rate, a large proportion of welfare recipients, and crowded living conditions. From the beginning, the Center committed itself to serving economically disadvantaged and culturally diverse communities.
Today, La Frontera Center is described by La Frontera Arizona as the largest nonprofit community behavioral health care organization in southern Arizona. The organization operates from multiple locations throughout metropolitan Tucson and the surrounding county, with approximately 500 employees listed in its history of local operations. Its network is intended to provide coordinated and comprehensive mental health and substance abuse services for Pima County residents. La Frontera Arizona also identifies La Frontera Center as part of a statewide family of companies that includes EMPACT-Suicide Prevention Center, Southeastern Arizona Behavioral Health Services, and La Paloma Family Services.
The organization's broader behavioral health network includes outpatient counseling, substance abuse services, crisis intervention, and prevention programs through EMPACT-Suicide Prevention Center. Other affiliated programs provide behavioral health care in southeastern Arizona, foster care and therapeutic foster care for children and youth in Pima County, and group homes. La Frontera Arizona also describes treatment and housing programs serving children, adolescents, adults, and veterans, with resources related to homelessness, substance abuse, co-occurring disorders, and serious mental illness. These related services help place the South Tucson Clinic within a larger regional system of care, while the specific services available at this location should be confirmed directly with the clinic.
La Frontera has also maintained a focus on evaluating its programs and obtaining federal demonstration and research grants, including grants associated with CSAP, CSAT, and NIDA. The organization states that several of its programs have received national awards and that it operates one of the leading dual diagnosis programs in the nation. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit since its inception, La Frontera Arizona describes its mission as providing critical health services for all, with particular attention to economically challenged and culturally diverse populations.
The practice serves patients regardless of their ability to pay, and the organization states that no one will be denied access to services because of an inability to pay. A discounted or sliding fee schedule is available based on family size and income, with applications handled through the reception desk. People seeking care or information can begin by contacting the South Tucson Clinic or using La Frontera Arizona's patient and information resources. For urgent needs after 5 p.m. on weekdays, or during weekends and holidays, the organization directs community members to the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.