Family Support & Youth Services
Serving Children 0-5
Some of our most rewarding work involves counseling and assisting parents and young children from newborns to age five. One situation involved a Vietnamese boy whose parents kept him hidden from everyone because he showed signs of autism. The parents felt shame and guilt.
Family Support and Youth Services (FSS) provides crucial support for families facing multiple barriers to greater self-sufficiency and independence. FSS works to strengthen families by addressing intergenerational conflict, substance abuse, violence, and job readiness training. Programs for “at-risk” infants and pre-school children include assessment, home visits, support groups, and school readiness. Our youth program strengthens assets of API youth to reduce prevalence of violence and associated risk behaviors. FSS is rooted in a strength-based empowerment model that draws on strong ethnic and cultural roots, family and community assets.
Family Support
- Infant and preschool children services provide children age 0-5 with school readiness support, assessment and treatment, developmental play groups; family service coordination, and referrals to county and city services.
- Parent servcies include parent peer support groups; prevocational training and counseling and cae management.
- Integrated Services focus on collaboration with families, community, and schools to provide early intervention including treatment and life skills-building programs to emotionally troubled API children and youth.
Youth Empowerment
Asian & Pacific Islander Youth Promoting Advocacy and Leadership (AYPAL) gives young people an opportunity to create positive change in their community through community organizing and cultural arts performances. Through helping their community, many of our youth end up helping themselves by reducing their involvement in violence and other risky behaviors (e.g., truancy, substance abuse, family intergenerational conflict and suicidal ideation). Started in 1998, AYPAL is a collaborative with four other youth organizations: