Programs

YMCA Isla Vista Teen Center • Noah's Anchorage Youth Crisis Center•Youth Development Outreach . Transitional Age Youth • Empowering Youth to Create Change: Anti-Bullying Strategies • Youth Summit • Building Bridges: Bringing Our Community Together Through Art • Mentorship Mural Project

Noah’s Anchorage Youth Crisis Shelter

Noah’s Anchorage Youth Crisis Shelter is a licensed residential group home for 10-17 year-old youth. We have been active in Santa Barbara county for over 30 years and are a trusted refuge and resource for youth and their families. Our services are available to the community 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Noah’s Anchorage is the only shelter of its kind in our community.

More than just a “program,” Noah’s is a safe place for youth to stay while working through personal and family issues with the help of a caring, trained team of staff. If you or someone you know needs help with what’s going on at home, is contemplating running away, is at risk of being homeless, or just need of someone to talk to, Noah’s can help.

Services include:

Temporary shelter in a cozy eight bed house
Crisis resolution and support
Counseling for youth and their families
Workshops on youth issues
“Cooling off” periods
Individualized support services
24 hour toll-free hotline
Linkage to community referrals

Street Outreach
Noah’s provides on the street assistance to kids who find the streets to be their home. Our mobile counseling unit daily reaches out to kids on the street offering:

Food, clothing , and hot showers
Toilitries,
Cean socks,
Referalls to the Shelter for basic needs.

Most importantly, they go to where the kids congregate providing a listening ear. Kids are informed about the Shelter and can come for shower, use of a phone, and residential services if necessary.

Transitional Age Youth (TAY)

Our TAY staff works directly with youth between the ages of 16-24 who are dealing with issues related to self-sufficiency, independence, and development of personal potential. These services are targeted to youth who are transitioning or have transitioned out of foster care, the juvenile justice system, or the Noah’s Anchorage residential program.

who are exiting from or have exited from foster care or the juvenile justice system. dealing with issues related to self-sufficiency and navigating independence.

TAY staff provides assistance with

Independent living skills
Identifying and meeting educational goals
Finding and gaining employment
Securing a safe place to live
Accessing physical and mental health services
Linkage to Community Resources
Transportation

Please call or drop by if you would like more information about Noah’s Anchorage Youth Crisis Shelter and the services we provide. No appointment necessary.

Noah’s Anchorage Youth Crisis Shelter
301 W. Figueroa St. Santa Barbara, CA 93101
(805) 964-8775

Hotline for 24 hour help: 1-866-HELP TEEN

_______________________________________________________

Youth Development Outreach Services

Serving over 40 Santa Barbara County Schools and youth serving organizations, Youth Outreach Services provides tools and training to assist in building key relationships with and for youth in our community. The major emphasis of this program is to provide the youth with skills for life that with enable them to be successful, happy youngsters who will grow into successful, happy adults.

Character Counts! and the 40 Developmental Assets, are the core operating principals in Youth Outreach Services programs. Staff, parents and youth of area schools and youth serving agencies are provided with site specific trainings, materials, monthly newsletters, resources and ongoing support. Both frameworks are based on significant national research and are highly successful.

Our Work
We base all of our services on 40 Developmental Assets and Character Counts Frameworks as a core foundation in programming. Our services intentionally work to build character and assets in children, youth and adults in our community.

Our Goals
To provide essential life skills, support and empowerment to children, youth and adults based on character development that increase human potential in aptitudes, perspectives and life choices. We focus on building the positive potential in each individual through caring, compassion, equality and respect of all people.

Programs & Services listed below;

Empowering Youth to Create Change:
Anti-Bullying Strategies

A six month outreach working with 30 to 60 students in each participating secondary school. Students learn to identify all forms of bullying & bias followed by coping strategies of assertiveness skills, mediation, expressive arts opportunities for emotional expression, positive skill building and ways to support, empower and care for other teens (40 Developmental Assets). After their learning curve and self explorations students create an action plan for school wide integration of what they learned and conduct activities to get the word out about resources, skills and coping strategies aiming to raise school climate. Program is based on the significantly research based 40 Developmental Assets, a highly positive youth development framework in use internationally (www.search-institute.org). Unique to this outreach is that primarily student led which fosters a higher rate of student buy in / acceptance. Also unique is that it is project of The Assets for Santa Barbara Youth Coalition led by the Channel Islands YMCA. We have come together as a community through the Coalition to integrate our professional services. motivated by our compassion and care with and for our youth.

Youth Summit

A one day event based on 40 Developmental Assets aiming to a). Empower, support and inspire youth to be change agents - to make a difference in their community and b). Foster relationships between adults and youth to increase the supportive engagement of adults to youth in our community. Youth and adults/educators come together to hear a variety of speakers from diverse sectors of our community including civic, law, and educational leaders. They participate in break out sessions, hear student & adult panels and participate interactively. Integrated into the day they will work together creating a community art piece, participate in interactive drumming sessions and other activities. This year's Youth Summit is themed "Empowering Youth to Create Change – Anti-Bullying Strategies" will be on April 28th, 2007 from 8:30 - 1:30 inside the Santa Barbara Courthouse. Hundreds of stories about bullying & art work from Building Bridges Project will be on display.

Building Bridges ~ Bringing Our Community Together Through Art

A 2 to 3 month outreach into schools grades 5-12. Youth are given an intimate and personal insight into someone very different from a handwritten survey completed by a diverse member of our community. People from retirement homes, sober living homes, juvenile hall centers and homeless shelters complete surveys about their lives, interests, adventures, profound experiences and mentorship experiences. Intermediary mentors transfer the surveys to youth. Students create a piece of art made specifically for the person from the information given on the survey. Attached to the art is a hand written letter of caring also created by the student. Program fosters tolerance, awareness, understanding through art. The presentation of the art pieces and letters of caring is documented by video and pictures which are shared with students providing an opportunity for them to see the impact that they had on the person they created the art for. Youth express feeling self-worth, empowerment and compassion because they made a difference for someone else. The recipients are given a special piece of art with a personally crafted handwritten letter that reminds them daily that they are valued and cared about by a youth in their community.

Mentorship Mural Project

Teens from local high schools create a mural under the mentorship of a professional muralist with the themes of building a community of compassion, acceptance and understanding . During their creation of the mural, teens learn about community serving agencies that help diverse people in need in their community. Teens decide upon an agency to receive the mural. The first mural will be hung at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital's Cancer Ward in September 2007.

We strive for all children, youth and adults to be Valued & Respected.

___________________________________________________

YMCA Isla Vista Teen Center

The Isla Vista Teen Center (IVTC) was created in 1998 out of a collaboration of Latino youth and families, The University of California at Santa Barbara, the Isla Vista Recreation and Park District, Isla Vista Youth Projects and other community groups. It has been under the guidance of the Channel Islands YMCA since 2002.

The IVTC provides bilingual/bicultural after-school programs for teens, primarily focusing on the enhancement of academic achievement for low-income and at-risk Latino youth. It serves as a safe drop-in center away from gang activities, alcohol and other drug use. The Isla Vista Teen Center provides a place in a fun, positive environment for local youth to socialize.

IVTC’s services include:

Tutoring
Homework assistance
After school and recreational activities
Mentoring
Community service opportunities

IVTC’s educational workshops for kids and families include:

Alcohol/drug prevention
Health education
Leadership groups
Parenting education/advocacy

Isla Vista Teen Center Hours
Monday through Thursday:
3:30 PM to 5:00 PM - Homework only
5:00-8:00 pm - Recreational and Group Activities
Friday: 4:00-8:00 PM - Recreational Activities

For more information please contact the Teen Center at:

YMCA Isla Vista Teen Center
889 Camino Del Sur 93117
Isla Vista, CA (805) 685-9170_