New Van Means New Opportunities for Hillsides Transition-Aged Youth

Youth participating in Hillsides Youth Moving On (YMO) program will now be better connected to the community through the generosity of the following donors: All Saints Church Pasadena, the Charitable Foundation, Lon V. Smith Foundation, Employees Charity Organization of Northrop Grumman, and Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern California. The charities funded a new eight-passenger van that will support the many community-based services YMO provides for its clients.

With a new van, youth will have access to college campus tours, weekly off-site job searching, thrift-store shopping for workplace clothing, and vital enriching activities to support their emotional well-being and social growth. “Our YMO program fills a vital need for underserved youth in our community.  With the addition of this van, we will be able to provide the youth with more resources and services that will tremendously help them transition into successful adulthood,” said Hillsides Chief Executive Joseph M. Costa.

YMO meets the housing, health, and employment needs of some 550 transition-aged youth each year ages 16 – 25.  Key services include individualized case management, housing assistance, educational support, life skills classes, workforce development, paid internships, life guidance and support, and money management.  Part of the YMO is the Peer Resource Center, a one-stop shop of support services, which, since opening its doors in Pasadena three years ago, has served some 1,200 youth in the community.

The YMO Program is one of Hillsides four core programs.  The others are Family Resource Centers, which offer numerous community-based programs; Residential Treatment Services, which provides children in foster care or who are unable to live at home for other reasons with a safe and stabile environment; and Hillsides Education Center, a therapeutic day and residential school offering individualized education for students with learning and/or behavioral challenges for children in kindergarten through 12th grade.

Hillsides provides high quality care, advocacy, and innovative services that promote safe, permanent environments where children and youth can thrive. Headquartered in Pasadena, the agency and its affiliation with Bienvenidos serves children and families in Los Angeles County throughout its 35 sites, including school-based mental health offices in Los Angeles, Pasadena, and Baldwin Park. Licensed resource homes, formerly known as foster homes, serve families in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. To learn more about both agencies, visitwww.Hillsides.org and www.Bienvenidos.org.