Families South Africa (FAMSA-Knysna) has been operating on the Garden Route since 1989. They have trained counsellors, skilled in all potential problem areas encountered in relationships, marriages, families and communities and are available to give assistance where and when necessary. The counsellors hail from all cultural and language groups and a request can be made for particular requirements. FAMSA Knysna's mission is to build a self-reliant, resilient society, by empowering the individual's capacity to build and maintain healthy interpersonal relationships in the family, and in the community - especially where that capacity is threatened by risk factors such as depression, suicide, rape, domestic violence, crime, substance abuse and HIV / AIDS.