FALL 2023
New
HEIGHTS FAMILY VICTORIES FROM YOUTH VILLAGES
INNER HARBOUR BREAKS GROUND ON MAJOR BUILD
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
• GORDON FOODS AND PUBLIX GIVE BACK • DONOR SPOTLIGHT: BARBARA WILLIAMS • TRANSITION-AGE YOUTH ATTEND CAUCUS TO DISCUSS THEIR JOURNEY • LIFESET™ PARTICIPANT’S FUTURE IS BRIGHT
UPDATE
FROM YOUTH VILLAGES EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
GEORGIA ADVISORY BOARD Paul Zachos, Board Chair Amy Baillie Edwin Cook
This past fiscal year, we served more than 500 children in Georgia through our community-based and residential programs, and we could not be prouder of living up to our mission to help children and families live successfully. Having recently celebrated 20 years at Youth Villages, I know the importance of fighting every day to ensure the youth in our care receive the services and support they need so they can thrive in their families and communities. We appreciate your continued support as we assist in the transformative work of healing. In this newsletter, you will hear more about ELEVATE, our multi-year capital campaign to support the revitalization of all the facilities on our residential campus. This is an exciting time to see our community expanding, including upgraded buildings for our staff and youth. You will also learn about two of our most treasured community partners and how their support impacts the well-being of our youth and staff. In addition to our community partners, you will meet Barbara Williams, whose family generously helped us to grow our herd and expand our horsemanship program. We know no one does this work alone. We can continue helping children and families because of our robust network of support — from our staff to the families of our youth to our mentors to our community partners. Our gratitude for your reinforcement is immense. May you and yours continue to thrive!
Don Crampton Robb Dillon Bruce Hein Brian Holloway Dara Mann Adrienne Mittons Robert L. Rearden III Matthew Tarkenton
Youth Villages is a national leader in mental and behavioral health committed to finding the most effective solutions to help children, families and young adults overcome obstacles and live successfully. Working through direct services, partnerships with other high-performing agencies and advocacy, we collaborate to bring positive change to child welfare, children’s mental health and justice systems. Our 4,000 employees serve more than 39,000 children and young adults in more than 100 locations in 26 states and D.C. Youth Villages has been recognized by the Harvard Business School and U.S. News & World Report and was identified by The White House as one of the nation’s most promising results-oriented nonprofit organizations.
How are we doing? Tanya Anderson EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR GEORGIA tanya.anderson@youthvillages.org 770-852-6238
We’d love to hear feedback from you, so we can continue to improve and give you content you enjoy. Use this QR code to complete our survey.
YOUTHVILLAGES.ORG
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© 2023 Youth Villages, Inc. All rights reserved.
ELEVATING INNER HARBOUR
GROUNDBREAKING CELEBRATION KICKS OFF MULTI-YEAR CAMPUS IMPROVEMENT PROJECT On June 6, we welcomed friends, community partners, donors and Youth Villages leadership to the Inner Harbour campus for a momentous occasion with our groundbreaking celebration for ELEVATE: A Campaign for Youth Villages Georgia. This multi-year campaign includes three phases that will allow us to update our administration facilities and youth residential cottages and add new education and recreation buildings. These new spaces will allow us to create an environment with updated technology in the buildings. The new facilities’ large windows will bring nature and outdoor landscapes into our spaces, further enhancing our therapeutic services. The first phase will focus on adding a new cottage for 16 young people and a new administration building that will be closer to the campus’ entrance. Moving the administration building to the front of the campus will give our living spaces more privacy from campus traffic. The change will encourage more foot traffic for staff and guests instead of driving. We are aware that our residential program provides residence and respite for the youth in our care to do deep therapeutic and transformational work. The environment where they live is an essential component to supporting them feeling safe while navigating their trauma narratives. In addition, it provides a physical space where they learn more about themselves and gain coping skills that they need to thrive. The changes we are making to our physical campus are more than upgrades; they support the work we are doing to help children and families live successfully — now and for years to come.
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PARTNERS MAKE AN IMPACT THROUGH GIVING BACK Community engagement with Gordon Foods and Publix At Youth Villages Georgia, we treasure our community partners. We know we cannot meet the needs of children and youth in our programs without help from companies and organizations who believe in our work. It indeed takes a village. Gordon Foods is a national food distribution company that has been a supporter of Youth Villages since 2016. This past year, Gordon Foods expanded its support for Holiday Heroes and Backpack Heroes. Gordon Foods collected school supplies to fill backpacks for the start of school, and later brought joy and cheer to the campus with gifts for the holidays.
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The Gordon Foods team, under the leadership of Kate Bowman, also visited the Inner Harbour campus for a day of service in the community garden. A half-day of working to weed and mulch the garden revitalized the space and created a fresh, open space for spring planting.
We are grateful for their consistent support of Youth Villages! Publix is a national supermarket and has been a community partner of Youth Villages for more than a decade. Each year, 20 to 30 volunteers from local Publix stores come to the Inner Harbour campus to work a half-day in the community garden and then provide a cookout for our staff and youth. Feeding more than 250 people is no small feat, and they do it with ease and genuine care for lifting the spirits of our campus. As part of its Publix Serves Day, the volunteers give back to the Youth Villages community and create a special day that everyone looks forward to all year long. Led by Shana Harris and Kristen Lumpkin, the Publix team came out with smiles on their faces and made a difference to our campus and our community. This year, they also saw and felt the power of drumming through our West African Drumming program. Publix volunteers are servant leaders, and we appreciate their generous annual support.
DONOR SPOTLIGHT
BARBARA WILLIAMS
The Williams-Thorpe family at Rancho Las Cascadas, Mexico.
Earlier this year, a critical need arose in the Inner Harbour therapeutic horsemanship program for two new draft horses. Barbara Williams and her family made a generous contribution to help purchase Apollo and Bentley for the herd. How did you and your family become involved with Youth Villages? We have our family philanthropic fund with the Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta because of its emphasis on participatory philanthropy. Our advisor contacted me when she heard of Youth Villages’ need to find new horses for the therapeutic horsemanship program. I thought it might be a good fit for us, knowing our interest in horses and their therapeutic potential. We wanted to see the program before making a commitment. We were given an incredible tour of the facilities and a thorough experiential understanding of the horsemanship program.
was challenged, and they began to see that good things could happen to them. We know that horses communicate with our deepest fears and our greatest joys. That’s what I hope Bentley and Apollo will share with their young riders.
What do you think sets Youth Villages apart in its work with children and families?
Why should someone consider becoming more involved with Youth Villages?
I was impressed with the courage and commitment shown to children and families who have reached desperate points in their lives, particularly with the respect and love shown them by the staff I met.
Your gift helped bring two new horses to the therapeutic horsemanship program. What impact do you hope that gift will have on the children at Inner Harbour? When the children received the horses into the herd, some of them wrote us the kindest, sweetest thank you notes revealing what the horses meant to them, so I already know the immediate impact. Their sense of being unworthy
We have found Youth Villages to be a very open and uplifting atmosphere designed for the care and protection of especially vulnerable youth. Youth Villages utilizes an array of modalities from horsemanship to drumming to gardening and canine care to reach children who might need more than the traditional therapeutic approaches.
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TRANSITION-AGE YOUTH DISCUSS THEIR JOURNEYS AT U.S. SENATE CAUCUS ON FOSTER CARE
A
diverse group of young adults with lived experience in child welfare systems recently came together in Washington, D.C., to share their journeys and push for the services and support that all transition-age foster youth need. The Lived Experience Congressional Briefing on Capitol Hill was sponsored by the U.S. Senate
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Caucus on Foster Care and presented by Youth Villages. It was part of Foster Care and Mental Health Awareness months.
at Youth Villages; and Laticia Aossey, an Iowa state program coordinator for the foster care youth advocacy council, AMP (Achieving Maximum Potential).
Youth Villages is committed to helping transition-age foster youth get a good start to successful adulthood. The LifeSet program is the largest in the country helping transitionage foster youth and one of the only program models to have shown impacts on many parts of a young person’s life in a randomized clinical trial.
Washington entered foster care at age 15 and lived in five different foster homes. He described his time in care as a roller coaster. “I was able to use some of the downs on my ride that I call life to become passionate about changing the world. I’ve been able to meet officials to talk about how we can better the system for those who come after me,” Brandon said.
Participating in the panel were LifeSet Scholars Abby Nelson and Brandon Washington from Tennessee; Julmonzhae Moore, a LifeSet participant from Kentucky; Ali Massengill, a former LifeSet participant and LifeSet Scholar who is now regional supervisor
The panel discussed the mental health support needed by those who experience foster care. “Going into foster care is traumatic,” Massengill said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re being removed from a negative environment, being removed from your biological family is a very traumatic event.” That trauma can cause anxiety, depression and emotional and behavioral problems. Children and youth in foster care may have access to therapists, even regular sessions, but find it hard to trust and open
LifeSet Scholars and Youth Villages staff joined transition-age youth advocates in Congressional meetings on Capitol Hill.
up. Therapy may be more effective when they’re young adults. Aossey has direct care experience working with transition-age foster youth who experience mental health challenges. She said it can sometimes be very difficult to find providers with the experience needed to help young adults. “You have to find providers who have specialized in working with foster youth, because obviously there’s a whole different set of concerns as opposed to young people who have grown up with consistent parents,” Aossey said. “It’s a challenge I’ve seen as a social worker. We need more people who have expertise in this type of work.” The panel was moderated by Elina Morrison, a former LifeSet Scholar and recent master’s degree graduate of the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy. She is now a federal policy intern at Youth Villages. After the panel, participants met with individual senators and staff to discuss their policy recommendations.
LifeSet Scholars Brandon Washington and Abby Nelson, left, in a meeting with Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s staff and Leticia Aossey, a transition-age youth advocate from Iowa.
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A JOURNEY FROM DARKNESS TO
A BRIGHT FUTURE A recent National Alliance on Mental Health study stated that nearly 20% of high school students reported serious thoughts of suicide, and 9% tried to take their lives. Moreover, according to a CDC report, suicide attempts were reported more frequently among girls than boys. In 2018, Abby fit all those categories. She was a high school junior, and the trauma of growing up in a home filled with abuse, along with her anxiety around an unknown future after high school, combined to offer little or no hope. “When I was 17 years old, I had a bad mental breakdown,” Abby said. “I was in a dark place in my life. I thought I did not want to be on this earth anymore.”
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Abby grew up at home with her father, mother, three brothers and one sister. She recalls it was chaos all the time. “There was a lot of domestic abuse [verbal, physical, mental], and drug and alcohol use,” Abby said. “As a child, you grow up in an environment you think is normal, but it’s not. Everyone’s normalcy is different.” By sixth grade, Abby was the only sibling left in the house. Her parents’ drug use and abuse continued, so Abby was taken out of her home by the state. After talking with both a state-appointed counselor and lawyer, she was placed in kinship care with her grandparents. “I was scared because I didn’t want to tell anyone. Like I said, I thought it was normal,” Abby said.
Abby’s case was closed in eighth grade, and she lived with her grandparents until she graduated high school. However, as a junior, Abby’s thoughts about her plans after high school “sparked a lot of anxiety that led to aggression toward myself because of my family issues.” In addition, Abby kept her kinship care a secret from her high school friends and classmates, even her boyfriend of two years at the time. “I didn’t know how to deal with my issues,” Abby said. “There were a lot of things I held in that I didn’t know how to control. This led me to a dark place.” Abby’s anxiety was building up and she needed help. “Not knowing the future was killing me inside,” Abby said. A staff member at Abby’s high school put her in touch with a Youth Villages LifeSet specialist. LifeSet is a program that serves as a bridge to adulthood for those youth aging out of foster care. Michelle, Abby’s former LifeSet specialist, first helped her see she had the strength to take her journey on a different path. Abby recalls LifeSet helping her gain more self-confidence and self-worth and see herself making an impact in the future. “Michelle talked through things with me and helped me see there was something for me after high school,” Abby said. “Through our talks, I saw my problem wasn’t as big as I thought it was, and I can overcome it.” A major hurdle Abby overcame was choosing where — and how financially — to attend college. She wanted a college far enough away from home but also close enough to drive back in a day. In addition, Abby wanted a Catholic college where she could freely practice her faith. Finally, Abby knew she wanted to remain in LifeSet in college.
“What affected my decision on where to attend college was ‘can I remain in LifeSet?’,” Abby said. “This (going to college) was a big change in my life, and I needed support, I needed someone.” Next for Abby was applying for financial support. The process was complicated due to her kinship care status. That’s where LifeSet navigated Abby through the journey and supplied resources for her to apply for financial support to attend college. She became a LifeSet Scholar that provided her more resources and support, including a mentor. Abby graduated from college this past May with a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies education, and she is returning to school to pursue a master’s degree. Abby has had the opportunity to share her lived experience with others, too. She attended the 2022 Janie’s Fund GRAMMY® Awards Viewing Party with other LifeSet participants. Recently, she spoke on a foster care panel in Washington, D.C., and is set to return to the nation’s capital for another panel on kinship care. “I don’t know where I would be without Youth Villages and LifeSet,” Abby said. “LifeSet is that helping hand for you. At the end of the day, it’s better to receive help than get no help at all.”
Visit youthvillages.org/lifeset for more information on LifeSet. To help someone experiencing suicidal ideation call the 988 national suicide and crisis lifeline.
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YOUTH VILLAGES GEORGIA DONORS JAN. 1 - JUNE 30, 2023
VISIONARY
50,000 TO $99,999
$
Cummins
PILLAR
25,000 TO $49,999
$
Thorpe Family Fund
LEADER
10,000 to $24,999
$
Atlanta Foundation Jack and Anne Glenn Charitable Foundation
PROTECTOR 5,000 to $9,999
$
Heather Rivera Richard P. Shaw Debbie Shiflett United Way of Greater Atlanta
Rotary Club of Vinings Cumberland Kevin Schroder Bob and Paula Snelling Southwire Company Paul Zachos
100 to $499
$
FRIEND 500 to $999
$
Kathryn Arnold Cobb EMC Community Foundation Charity Drabik Brian Holloway JM Huber Corporation Kimberly Clark Matching Gifts Kimberly Knight Adrienne Mittons Dr. Michael O’Reilly Robert Rearden, III
Ralph Anderson Rebecca Auman Dr. and Mrs. H. Thomas Blum Dr. Victor Brown Barbara H Caldwell Kelly Chancy Mark DeNyse Angelina Diaz Armand Diaz DW Sams Creative, LLC Sarah Frierson Matt Goudreau Larry Harris Don Harrison
Mr. and Mrs. Carl Hein Scott Johnson Cindy Jones Myra Kucera Ellen Mathys Abe Martinez Moms On Call Linda Orovitz Asya Sabir Diya Sandeep Debbie Shiflett St. Charles AME Zion Church Juanita Stedman Matt Swift Sydney Touchstone Synopsys Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Dirk Vandergrinten Jolanda Walther Patricia Wenck
Anonymous
BUILDER
1,000 to $4,999
$
Anonymous (2) Amy Baillie Jeannie and Matt Beckett Family Fund Cobb EMC Community Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Cook Donald Crampton Robb Dillon Georgia Music Foundation Greystone Power Employee Giving Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Hein Lauren Hunter Bill and Leslie Nunn Post Loyal Architecture
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CELEBRATING OUR OUTCOMES! FY 2023
518
88%
88%
92%
TOTAL YOUTH SERVED
NO TROUBLE WITH THE LAW
POSITIVE PROGRAM EXITS
YOUTHS IN SCHOOL, GRADUATED OR EMPLOYED
THERE ARE NUMEROUS WAYS YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN YOUTH VILLAGES’ PROGRAMS.
JOIN OUR EFFORTS
BECOME A FORCE FOR FAMILIES
Join us and become a Holiday Hero for kids in our community this holiday season! Sign up to be matched with a youth in our community or donate today!
Make a donation, mentor or volunteer to support our Youth Villages Georgia programs. Your support makes an incredible impact in the lives of hundreds of children we serve each day in Georgia.
GET INVOLVED Gifts of Cash, Appreciated Stock, Planned Gifts, Corporate or Foundation Donors Matt Jarrard, Director of Development, Georgia matthew.jarrard@youthvillages.org | 678-978-0520
Community Engagement, Events & Volunteering Kimmy Yon, Community Engagement Manager kimmy.yon@youthvillages.org | 404-667-1334
Become a Mentor Katrina Word, Mentor Program Manager katrina.word@youthvillages.org | 404-695-9159
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YOUTH VILLAGES
Youth Villages is a private nonprofit that serves more than 39,000 children and their families each year from offices in the following cities: Alabama: Auburn, Birmingham, Mobile Arizona: Phoenix Arkansas: Little Rock, Searcy, West Memphis Florida: Lakeland Georgia: Atlanta, Douglasville Indiana: Bloomington, Columbus, Indianapolis Louisiana: Metairie Kentucky: Lexington, Louisville/Jeffersonville (Indiana) Maine: Portland Massachusetts: Boston, Marlborough, Raynham, West Springfield, Woburn Mississippi: Biloxi, Greenwood, Hattiesburg, Hernando, Jackson, Meridian, Tupelo New Hampshire: Manchester, Plymouth North Carolina: Asheville, Boone, Charlotte, Fayetteville, Greensboro, Greenville, Louisburg, Raleigh-Durham, Waynesville, Wilmington Ohio: Worthington Oklahoma: Oklahoma City, Tulsa Oregon: Bend, Portland, Salem South Carolina: Rock Hill Tennessee: Chattanooga, Clarksville, Columbia, Cookeville, Dickson, Dyersburg, Jackson, Johnson City, Knoxville, Memphis, Morristown, Nashville, Paris Washington, D.C. New Heights Georgia is published by Youth Villages Prefer not to receive a printed newsletter? Email matthew.jarrard@youthvillages.org or call 678-978-0520. To also receive a digital copy of our newsletters and join our email list, sign up at youthvillages.org/stay-informed.
