YOS Spring 2020 Newsletter

YOS Community Matters Newsletter SPRING 2020

TechSavvy CLIENTS

Our staff has seen an overall trend of our youths’ daily stressors being heightened due to COVID-19. Youth are experiencing an increase in anxiety over the challenges of motivation and productivity around e-learning. Now more than ever, it is important for our services to remain accessible, even if that looks different.

Our counselors are accommodating youth and their families to offer therapy in the best ways that suit their needs and capabilities through web-based applications. Our counselors have found that our tech-savvy generation of clients is very comfortable switching to the use of phone calls and video conferencing with ease.

YOS therapists have become problem solvers through this crisis and are helping youth see the positive side of things. Our engagement rate saw only a small dip, since youth are eager to share more openly now, due to their lack of school or other social interactions.

With this being the new normal, YOS intends to continue to ramp up its virtual services and use them more permanently in the future. If you know of a youth who is currently struggling and may need counseling services, please contact YOS at 773-777-7112 or at www.yos.org/services/looking-services.

Adapting to a Pandemic The stress of the pandemic is affecting us all, but particularly for young people. Since the stay-at-home order, our youth’s usual safe and positive spaces have been taken away, they are not able to see their mentors or friends, their social and recreational activities have been cancelled, and e-learning has presented a new challenge in their lives.

The health and safety of our staff and clients is our highest priority, which is why our staff quickly moved to working remotely, back on March 18, 2020.

Our counselors have been calling and checking in on youth, as well as offering video conferencing for individuals or groups. YOS continued to seek out and accept new client referrals, as we are committed to ensuring all youth receive guidance and support.

Our transitional living program remained fully CHILD WELFARE operational and open to support the youth in our care. We followed strict guidelines from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The Illinois Department of Public Health, and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. We closely monitored social distancing practices and provided a slew of fun, indoor activities. Our foster care program kept a close watch on our foster youth and families via phone calls and video chats too.

Our juvenile justice programs worked remotely as our JUVENILE JUSTICE evening and day reporting centers connected to our youth using video conferencing. The prison staff for the Illinois Youth Centers worked on a modified scheduled to enforce physical distancing, while continuing services for the youth within the centers.

Since our prevention programs are primarily schoolPREVENTION based, our staff worked remotely on gearing up for when schools reopen. This also proved to be a great time to prepare for our virtual summer employment services and to have staff enhance their skills through professional development opportunities.

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH

For three months, we continued to maintain physical distancing until our offices reopened as of June 15, 2020, with new, modified staff schedules and a concerted effort to ease into seeing clients face-to-face. The pandemic has forced unprecedented changes and new ways of serving families. This, coupled with the recent events around our country spotlighting systemic racism and inequalities, has led YOS to be more thoughtful and intentional for the safety and welfare of our communities.

STRIVING

FOR

NEW

&

BETTER Responding to Trauma, Bullying, and Abuse

1) Our Response to Trauma Across every community and every family are youth who are faced with traumatic life experiences. With emotional resilience and the proper tools, youth are able to move past the trauma; but without, such a hard experience can fester and have lifelong negative impacts long into adulthood.

Examples may include having divorced parents, school bullying, gang violence, or physical or sexual abuse. We have seen an increase in self-referrals from youth during the coronavirus quarantine who are feeling the effects of anxiety or loneliness, or who are having to step up as the caretaker of the household if a parent is unable to.

With such an evidenced need, YOS responded by better equipping our staff to handle this across our agency.

About twenty of YOS’s clinicians from across each of our office sites were trained in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), a therapeutic intervention designed for adolescent and their guardians to overcome the impact of traumatic events. The focus of the treatment is to assist the youth to develop coping strategies for traumatic stress reactions, reduce youth’s symptoms of depression, anxiety or acting out behavior, and to provide parenting skills. This may take anywhere from 8 to 25 weeks.

2) Our Response to Bullying Over the years, bullying has manifested in various ways and in much more intense or violent scenarios. Cyber bullying, outside of school hours or out of sight of parents, can have detrimental effects on youth’s self-esteem and feeling of safety. Bullying is linked to negative impacts on mental health, an increase in substance use, suicidal thoughts, and academic performance. Youth are more likely to miss, skip, or drop out of school to avoid problems of bullying. Further, schools may not have the policies or practices in place to allow school personnel to properly discipline bullying. YOS recognized this systematic challenge and decided to respond more proactively.

Funded by The Car Max Foundation in 2019 and 2020, YOS devised a bullying prevention workshop, offering sessions to schools for grades 6 through 12. The goal of our program is to teach youth how to identify bullying and discuss ways of coping and advocating for themselves, as well as to help youth understand consequences, how to prevent further incidents, and what to do if faced with a challenging circumstance. In 2019, YOS’s prevention team was able to reach 400 students and, with a growing demand, currently has a waiting list of more than 1,100 students. When schools are back in session, we will be ready and able to share this program immediately.

3) Our Response to Abuse As a licensed Child Welfare agency committed to responding to child abuse or neglect, as well as YOS’s expertise in aiding families with youth who exhibit problematic sexual behaviors, YOS has gained increased proficiency in how we respond to victims of abuse or those committing inappropriate acts of abuse onto others. In doing so, YOS has sought out key community partners such as the Chicago Public School’s Office of Student Protections and the Children’s Advocacy Center.

In late 2019, YOS is a new member of the Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center’s PATHH Collaboration, or Providing Access Toward Hope and Healing. Through this group of providers committed to improving the mental health system in Chicago, we provide our evidence-based, trauma-informed therapies for children and families.

PATHH is committed to serving children who are most in need and may not otherwise have access to community service providers due to financial, transportation or language barriers.

About 20 of YOS’s clinicians from across each of our office sites were trained in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT).

YOS devised a bullying prevention workshop in 2019 and 2020, offering sessions to schools for grades 6 through 12.

In late 2019, YOS partnered with outside providers, committed to improving the mental health system in Chicago, through our evidence-based, trauma-informed therapies for children and families.

YOS Experts Present in Oklahoma

ACCLAIM

YOS has been making great strides in bringing together community members and local stakeholder agencies to learn about and discuss our community’s response to youth with problematic sexual behaviors (PSB). YOS was awarded two federal U.S. Department of Justice grants in 2016 and 2018 to implement a continuum of care by using two evidence-based models of multi-systemic family therapy for problem sexual behavior (MST-PSB) and cognitive behavior group-family therapy (PSB-CBT).

Since being awarded, YOS staff have hosted numerous webinars, cafes, and panel discussions, including with the Chicago Children’s Center for Behavioral Health, the Office of Student Protection for the Chicago Public Schools, Proviso Township Police Department, the Children’s Advocacy Centers, Lutheran Social Services of Illinois, and the Illinois Collaboration on Youth (ICOY).

After years of successful program implementation, the National Center on the Sexual Behavior of Youth asked YOS to present at their National Symposium on our experience and the importance of educating the community. The symposium was held in Norman, Oklahoma on February 25th-27th, 2020 and brought together 305 participants from 28 U.S. states, D.C., Australia, Canada, Germany, and Norway. Program managers, Margaret Hensley and Peggy Moulton presented, while Executive Director, Jamie Noto and Jeannie Bellina, from Cook County Juvenile Probation, shared testimonials. Information sharing on a national level, like this, has led YOS to now be known as a premier organization.

Pictured at left: Program managers, Margaret Hensley and Peggy Moulton, lead by example as they go above and beyond supervising multiple teams while also promoting YOS in At right, below: ERC Counselors, Claudia Cerda and the community.

Robert Williams, not only lead youth groups but also educate the community on the benefits of alternatives to detention.

YOS Hosts National Delegations The juvenile court of Cook County, Illinois has long been implementing a continuum of alternatives to detention, one of which includes Evening Reporting Centers (ERC) for youth to stay in their community instead of being detained behind bars. YOS’s ERC program began in 1994 and continues to this day, as a 21-day community-based program currently serving up to fifteen males at any given time, between the ages of 12 and 18, five days per week.

The court’s program was first funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a private philanthropy based in Baltimore, with a devoted mission to developing a brighter future to high at-risk youth across the country. The program consists of a holistic approach of teaching youth about accountability, various necessary life skills, and offering prosocial activities to engage them in positive changes to avoid returning to jail. Since the start of the program, YOS has partnered with Cook County Juvenile Court, Aunt Martha’s, Westside Association for Community Action (WACA), and Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC), to form a collaborative to strengthen communities and provide for a more efficient process.

Each organization’s ERC program follows the same design, goals, and inter-agency communication to share programmatic updates.

Cook County’s program has recently been designated as a top-rated program, offering youth alternatives to detention; and YOS’s ERC program specifically has been recognized by the courts and visited by numerous delegations from across the country and most recently, Australia. YOS’s ERC program notably has a 90% success rate within this 2020 fiscal year. The success of the program attributes to the youth’s improved motivation, participation, and their ability to turn their lives around before nearing detention.

Educating Youth through Workshops In 2019, YOS was introduced to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office’s Community Justice Center, an outreach office established to improve quality of life for communities. YOS quickly realized the overlap in its own mission to share resources and services to communities in need. We devised a plan to pilot an annual youth symposium on the west side of Chicago, offering high school freshman students the opportunity to participate in workshops focused on creating safer, stronger communities.

On February 28, 2020, the symposium was held at Breakthrough FamilyPlex, located in Chicago’s East Garfield Park neighborhood. It gathered westside Chicago police officers, the Chicago Park District, Sinai Health System, five service organizations, and 75 students from Orr, Al Raby, Marshall, and Legal Prep High Schools. Each session educated and empowered students to lead healthy lives and grow into exceptional leaders.

• Youth Outreach Services presented about trauma and resources for youth.

• Art4Students presented about self-expression and the arts, such as drama.

• Institute for Nonviolence Chicago presented about conflict resolution and decision making.

• Malcolm X College presented about goal setting including education and careers.

• Youth Guidance’s BAM & WOW Programs broke out the students during the lunch hour for a “Just Us” presentation about relationships, making good choices, and positivity, geared for girls and boys.

STAYING CONNECTED Our dedicated staff members including program manager David Rodriguez and clinicians, Nicole Pena and Amanda Mendoza, created and facilitated an informational presentation on ways to identify trauma and how to cope and treat trauma in healthy ways. Our youth often grow up with the mentality that these issues do not need to be explicitly dealt with, and our staff presenters wanted to highlight that it is okay to ask for help. The discussion around trauma is serious and can be complex, but the information can be accessible to teens when using the right terminology. For our staff who have been trained in trauma-focused therapies, we use techniques designed with a youth’s cognitive processes and their caregivers in mind.

Our counselors give youth the tools to be able to recognize the signs on their own.

Situations are unique to each person, but it is important for youth to understand that we do have the ability to process trauma and can even bounce back from the event. The youth symposium resulted in many youth receiving quality information to empower them towards healthy futures. YOS built a rapport with the Chicago Public Schools as well as other service providers, expanding future opportunities for more educational presentations to students or groups. Referrals for counseling services are being accepted on an ongoing basis.

Open Houses Welcome Visitors Youth Outreach Services hosted a series of open houses in fall of 2019 at three of our six community offices. Our doors are always open to community partners and families seeking services, but these events provided guests with a more personal, inside look into our 20+ programs/interventions in areas of prevention, counseling, juvenile justice, and child welfare services. While each of our offices provides similar services, each community presents varying challenges and unique ways of connecting with youth.

Our staff were creative and expressive as each program’s team created personalized boards that showcased activity photos, and explained the program structure and its positive outcomes. Attendees received office tours, often times, showing off our large and versatile spaces. For example, YOS’s Irving office has an art therapy room and a large recreational space, while the Austin site has a large computer lab, and Melrose Park’s site has newly renovated, colorful therapy rooms.

Not only did YOS get to show off its pride, but we garnered new partnerships as a result too. Guests brainstormed new opportunities for our substance abuse and pregnancy prevention teams to come to new schools. Our juvenile justice and crisis partners devised new, innovative ways to refer youth to YOS programs during critical times. The open houses were a great success and we hope to continue to strengthen the communities that we serve and with organizations that align with our mission to empower and enrich the lives of each youth.

TO OUR COMMUNITY Reaching New Professionals Youth Outreach Services recently partnered with Capella University’s Delta Kappa and Chi Upsilon Chi chapters of Chi Sigma Iota, its International Honor Society for Professional Counseling. Capella University is an online accredited university. In early 2020 in Rosemont, Illinois, students seeking counseling and human services degrees met in person during their annual week-long Chicago Residency Program. With a mission to promote scholarship, research, professionalism, leadership and excellence in counseling, Chi Sigma Iota sought out a local nonprofit organization for a service project during this week.

Students were asked to donate to YOS, raising a total of $500. The funds raised will go towards the purchase of many transit cards to help lessen the burden on our youth when commuting to therapy sessions, work or school. “Our youth face many community challenges on a daily basis. One barrier that they shouldn’t have to worry about is transportation,” Executive Director Jamie Noto shared. Not only can we eliminate this financial burden on our clients, but we can also provide safe transit through dangerous areas of the city.

Our YOS Development staff had a great time meeting people who are also passionate about social services and making a positive community impact. YOS was not only the sole organization selected to be the recipient of these efforts, but Executive Director, Jamie Noto, spoke to hundreds of people at the society’s inauguration ceremony, sharing about her own journey in social services and offering well wishes for their careers ahead.

POSTPONED After careful consideration, and in light of the ongoing COVID-19 developments, we are postponing our 60th Anniversary Celebration until further notice.

Rescheduling the event will enable us to provide the experience that our partners and supporters expect and deserve in a safe environment. We remain excited to host you at a later time, and will keep you informed with more information on our events page at YOS.ORG/GET-INVOLVED/EVENTS.

FRIDAY, APRIL 24 • 6-9 pm

THE YOS EXPERIENCE Six Decades of Connections

Thank You for Going Above and Beyond The YOS Leadership Team would like to thank our 100+ staff for their hard work and commitment to supporting our clients and families. Our staff are going above and beyond to provide exceptional care and services, with creativity and dedication. YOS continues to be inspired by you, with the global message that COVID can’t stop GOOD!

COV I D -1 9 Response Fund As a valued YOS supporter, thank you for your commitment to the healthy development of Chicagoland youth. The unpredictability of the situation and isolation has greatly added to the mental, emotional, and physical health challenges faced daily by our youth. Now more than ever, our efforts are vital and lifesaving. If you have the capacity to do so, please consider a monetary donation to have an immediate impact during this COVID-19 crisis. yos.org/donate We are also in need of your help to keep our staff, clients, and communities safe with donations of personal protective equipment (PPE) and cleaning supplies. If you or anyone you know has extra supplies that can be donated or homemade items that we can use, please contact us at philanthropy@ yos.org. We can work with you to schedule a no-contact drop off at one of our office locations, Mondays through Fridays. We appreciate those who are already helped by sewing masks, sharing your supplies, and helping connect us to resources.

Board member, Silvia Talavera, handmade over 100 masks for YOS staff.

yos.org/donate