Important Fall Program Updates

Y.O.U. extends our continued wishes for your health and safety. More than ever, we are grateful for your support of our work. Y.O.U. provides academic, social, and emotional support to youth. Our out-of-school-time programming is embedded with family engagement and clinical services, including case management and counseling. As we live through the COVID-19 pandemic and our current movement towards racial justice, these programs and services feel essential in new ways.

This is a time of rapid change. One thing we know, though, is that our youth have been greatly impacted by the world around them. Remote learning, social isolation, economic challenges, police brutality, and racial violence have a tremendous impact on our young people. Y.O.U. continues to do all we can to meet the needs of our youth. We are partnering with our school districts and our non-profit community, listening to the needs of our youth and families, and evolving our programs to meet emerging needs.

Elementary and Middle School Update

This fall, Y.O.U.'s Elementary and Middle School Programs will provide virtual individual tutoring several times a week alongside small group sessions. This program model will focus on those most in need of Y.O.U. We will support remote learning success, provide social-emotional check-ins, and offer virtual space for social connections and hands-on enrichment activities.

High School Update

Y.O.U.'s High School Program will continue to provide core program components virtually. Signature programming - Food, Farming, Future (F³), The Leadership Project, Safer Space, and Base Camp - all will continue. The High School Team will continue to engage youth as they form relationships, build agency, and develop skills. Freshman and Senior cohorts will provide targeted support during key periods. 

Clinical Update

Our Youth & Family Counselors will continue to serve their expanded caseloads. Case management services link families to local resources and provide concrete support, such as food, transportation, and safety supplies. Counseling via tele-mental health supports youth during these times of heightening anxiety and trauma. School partner social workers are identifying additional youth in need of counseling services from Y.O.U.

Community-Based Update

Y.O.U.'s community-based services also continue, with virtual community outreach efforts and no disruption to our 24-7 youth housing crisis hotline. Rather than happening at our headquarters, neighborhood programming for the 5^th ward also has gone virtual.

We continue to look towards the days when it is safe to come together. We also look towards a safer and more just world for all. Thank you for your partnership as we meet the needs of youth and families in our community.