Stanford Sierra Youth & Families envisions safe, lifelong connections for all young people, strengthened through generations of empowered families. Founded in 1900, this nonprofit supports the entire family with professional treatment and compassionate care, so every youth has the opportunity to thrive at home, in school and in the community.
SSYAF empowers youth and families to overcome challenges together and connects youth in foster care to permanent, loving families.
Programs include:
- Family advocacy and support
- Behavioral and mental health services
- Substance use prevention and treatment services
- Juvenile justice intervention
- Mentoring
- Foster care and adoption services
- Pre-and post-adoption support
Last year, SSYAF served 5,913 youth and family members through support services that help them heal from trauma, acquire critical life skills, build resilience and meet goals. The organization’s mental health programs helped 1,549 youth heal from trauma, manage their emotions and improve in school. Their adoption services placed 201 foster youth with stable, loving families.
SSYAF receives county contracts for service, but routinely provides support above and beyond. The result is a funding gap, and generous funding from family and corporate foundations and individuals helps fill this gap.
Over the next two years, SSYAF will increase efforts to create public awareness of the children and older youth living in foster care and to recruit families to open their hearts and homes to these children. In addition, the organization is developing a substance use prevention and treatment program — the first in Sacramento to serve youth exclusively — and will launch a transitional housing program for transition-age foster youth.
“For more than 121 years, SSYAF has provided help and hope for youth and families during times of uncertainty,” says CEO Laura Heintz, Psy.D. “Right now, the youth and families we serve need our support more than ever. We remain steadfast in our mission of transforming lives by nurturing permanent connections and empowering families to solve challenges together, so every child can thrive.”
