About Hillside

A continuum of care for children, adolescents, and their families

Welcome to Hillside, where every day is a new day and a new beginning. Since our beginning in 1888, Hillside’s mission has been to help children and families thrive by providing outstanding residential and community mental health services. Our programs focus on the strengths of our kids and encourage the growth and improvement they need to navigate through life. Hillside provides specialized cutting-edge behavioral treatment and education to children and their families both virtually and in person at our behavioral treatment center for teens.

Children can face a variety of mental health challenges that are often exacerbated as they enter adolescence. Some of these issues can severely affect the child’s ability to learn and succeed in school, and some can even manifest as life-threatening behaviors which may include having suicidal thoughts and gestures. Parents can be blindsided and ill-equipped to deal with these situations on their own, and every child is different and faces different challenges on their way to adulthood.

Every child at Hillside follows a course of treatment specially designed for them and in the least restrictive program possible, which makes Hillside unique among residential treatment centers for teenagers. Our continuum allows children and their families to move along our programming of Residential, Day Programming/Partial Hospitalization, and Intensive Outpatient services.

Timeline of Hillside

1888
Home for the Friendless opens as a shelter for homeless women and needy children
1920
Home for the Friendless becomes exclusively a shelter for school-aged children
1926
The name was changed to Hillside Cottages
1927
The first Hillside cottage was built and is still used as a residence for young boys
1989
Hillside Home for Children underwent another transformation and became Hillside, Inc.
1990
Gained accreditation from the Commission of the Accreditation of Residential Facilities
2015
Launched a new strategic plan: Hillside Vision 2020
2016
Partnered with Georgia Tech students to create a new play space
2018
Became the first Residential Treatment Program to be DBT-certified by the DBT-Linehan Board of Certification.
2019
Launched our Experience DBT Day Treatment Program
2020
Launched our Virtual Intensive Outpatient Treatment Program

Our History

Founded in January 1888, Hillside is one of Atlanta’s oldest nonprofit organizations. It began as a shelter for homeless women and needy children through the efforts of a sponsoring group of women led by Mrs. Levi Nelson, Mrs. Edgar McBurney, and Mrs. J.P. Averill.

The home, which was to become Hillside, was initially named ‘Home for the Friendless’ and operated from a ten-room house in Downtown Atlanta. The home cared for women, children, and newborn babies. Foster care placements and adoptions were also arranged as needed.

Credit: Atlanta (Ga.). City Council. "Home for the Friendless, 1898." Georgia State University. Special Collections. 1898, http://digitalcollections.library.gsu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/guidebook/id/68.

Over time, the Home for the Friendless evolved and expanded its services to meet the changing needs of the community. Space quickly became inadequate, and the home moved in 1889 to a house at Peters and Fair Streets, and then again in 1892 to a site at Highland Avenue and Randolph Street.

As other agencies were formed to care for adults, the Home for the Friendless became exclusively a shelter for school-aged children.

In the 1920s, several improvements were necessary to bring the program into compliance with a new set of child welfare standards, which were developing nationally.

During this time, the Kiwanis Club became interested in the home, through the efforts of Mrs. McBurney. The Kiwanians made financial contributions to help bring the home up to the national standards and to help enhance the life experiences of the children in care.

As the home grew, it needed more space. In 1926, eight acres of rolling woodland at 690 Courtenay Drive were purchased, and a contest was held to select a new name for the home. Mrs. Mabel Walker suggested the name Hillside Cottages, which was chosen as the new name along with the tagline “A friendly home for children”, reflecting its focus on providing care and support specifically to children in need.

Hillside Home for Children became known for its innovative programs and compassionate approach to helping disadvantaged youth.

The Kiwanis Club of Atlanta donated the funds to build the first of the Hillside Cottages. It was completed in 1927 serving as a residence for young boys today and is still known as the Kiwanis Cottage.

In 1989, Hillside Home for Children underwent another transformation and became Hillside, Inc. Just as Hillside’s location and facilities have changed over time, the mission of serving the most needy children has also evolved.

Today, Hillside operates as a private, nonprofit organization offering a continuum of residential and community-based services for children and adolescents struggling with emotional and behavioral challenges.

Hillside, Inc. continues to be a leading provider of mental health services in Atlanta, offering a range of programs designed to support young people in overcoming obstacles and building brighter futures.

Still located on Courtenay Drive in the Morningside neighborhood near Midtown Atlanta, Hillside’s campus has grown with the expansion of an additional five acres of land next door to its original campus and bordering Monroe Drive.

Hillside now has a 13-acre campus that houses its residential treatment program, a separate partial hospitalization program, called Experience DBT Day Treatment, and administration offices.

Throughout its history, the organization now known as Hillside, Inc. has remained committed to its mission of providing compassionate care and support to those in need, carrying on the legacy of the original Home for the Friendless by serving as a beacon of hope for vulnerable populations in Atlanta, Georgia.

Two cupped hands nurturing a growing tree, symbolizing healing and care

Our Mission

Since our beginning in 1888, Hillside’s mission has been to help children and families thrive by providing outstanding residential and community mental health services.

Our Residential Program, Community Intervention Program, Day Treatment, and Intensive Outpatient all keep focus on the strengths of our children and therefore encourage the growth and improvement they need to become future self-sustaining citizens.

Hillside’s Mission Statement

Hillside helps children and families thrive by providing outstanding residential and community mental health services.

Who We Serve

DBT is a cognitive behavioral psychotherapy originally developed by Dr. Marsha Linehan, Ph.D, ABPP in the late 1980s to treat women with borderline personality disorder. DBT's effectiveness in helping people with severe mood dysregulation — having a low threshold for emotional arousal and requiring more time to de-escalate — lends itself as an incredibly effective treatment for helping a broader population, beyond borderline personality disorder, who suffers from difficulty in emotional regulation.

DBT has been generalized to treat a wider population and has special protocols to treat clients with different diagnoses and demographics. At Hillside, we find success in using DBT Adolescent protocol with our teen clients. Many of our clinicians are trained in specialty DBT protocols such as DBT-PTSD, Radically-Open DBT, and DBT-Prolonged Exposure and offer these specific treatments to clients based on their individual needs.

Additional primary treatment modalities include cutting-edge specialty modalities such as Theraplay®, Horticulture Therapy, Cognitively-Based Compassion Training (CBCT®), and Expressive Art. These are all evidence-based therapy options available as part of our residential and day treatment programs. Combining recreational activities with psychotherapy is the best way to help teens incorporate the strategies they learn into real-world situations. Our highly specialized staff recognizes how important it is to understand the needs of the children and adolescents we serve, as well as their families and communities.