Corner House Behavioral Health

Corner House operated from the summer of 1972 through December 31, 2023. It began as Corner House Counseling Center, founded by Nancy Gryzbek, Dr. Shirley van Ferney and a group of Princeton residents to help the youth in their community deal with substance use and abuse. Princeton Borough and Princeton Township originally funded Corner House as the "Princeton Drug Program." Mercer County provided a treatment grant. Princeton Medical Center leased the house at the corner of Witherspoon and Henry Streets to the program for $1 per year. Corner House's founders proposed the name to create a place where caring professionals and non-professionals would build a cooperative network of services for people and families struggling with substance abuse. An Inter-governmental Drug Committee oversaw program development and later became the Princeton Alcohol and Drug Alliance (PADA), a Municipal Alliance under the Governor's Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. A core of Princeton residents created the Corner House Foundation, to raise funds to support the growing agency. In 1980 Corner House relocated to 369 Witherspoon Street, added student prevention programs and had an office in Princeton High School for a few years. Student programs included discussion groups for middle schoolers, life transition skills for underserved high schoolers, and leadership development for students in PHS and 3 private schools who developed and presented workshops for younger peers. During Borough and Township consolidation it moved with other service departments to One Monument Drive. In 2017 it was renamed Corner House Behavioral Health. Programs pivoted online during the 2020 pandemic and returned in-person as soon as possible. In 2021 Princeton reviewed cost effectiveness and in 2023 decided to close Corner House. Student programs transferred to Human Services. Addiction treatment ceased. The offices were leased to a treatment agency that generates revenue for Princeton.