Youth Eastside Services

Our Mission: Youth Eastside Services is a lifeline for kids and families coping with challenges such as emotional distress, substance abuse and violence. Through intervention, outreach and prevention, YES builds confidence and responsibility, strengthens family relationships, and advocates for a safer community that cares for its youth. YES was founded in 1968 as a grassroots movement by local volunteers concerned about the emergence of drug abuse among teenagers. In those early years, troubled youth found a drop-in center they could "rap" with sympathetic adult volunteers. Today, under the guidance of a 27 member Board of Trustees, our approach has broadened to help kids in distressing situations from depression, anxiety and substance abuse to violence, suicidal thinking and bullying. We believe that with the right tools and support, everyone in a family can thrive, regardless of emotional wounds or challenges. In 2013, YES helped more than 4.600 young clients and their family members. We also worked hard to prevent problems by delivering education and prevention services to 32,000 individuals throughout our community.

With three Eastside Locations and counselors in more than 40 partner sites, including schools and community centers, and teen centers Youth Eastside Services helps families through difficult times, such as: -Emotional distress, anxiety and depression -Trauma and grief -Behavioral difficulties and school-related problems -Peer and family relationship issues -Physical, emotional or sexual abuse Our substance abuse treatment program provides a wide range of services to youth, including: -Comprehensive assessment, outpatient treatment and counseling for youth -Parenting support -Support through recovery -Prevention, education and intervention services at local schools and within the community Our education and prevention programs help stop problems before they start, and include: -Success mentorship program -Teen dating violence education -BGLAD support group for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning youth -Latino youth programs emphasizing leadership, cultural empowerment and service. -Healthy Start which promotes strong parent-child attachment for young first-time parents. YES also offers parenting support, education and one-to-one coaching for parents of children at any age or stage. YES accepts insurance, Medicaid and offers a sliding fee scale that goes all the way to zero. Contributions from individuals, businesses, foundations and public agencies help fund our work, and on average, more than 78 cents of every dollar goes directly to providing services to kids and their families. At YES, a family's inability to pay for services never stands in the way of their finding the help they need, thanks to generous donations. In the past five years, YES has provided $1.33 million in uncompensated care to 3,439 clients. Our programs are state certified and our staff are experienced in working with youth. YES is committed to the use of best practices and providing the best individualized treatment to our clients. Many of our staff are Chemical Dependency Professionals (CDP) and also credentialed mental health counselors, helping us meet the growing number of youth suffering from addiction and co-occurring mental health issues. Volunteers are always welcome for our mentorship programs, and other volunteer opportunities are available on our website.