Casa Pacifica Centers for Children and Families and the YMCA Noah’s Anchorage Youth Center each received $50,000 from Montecito Bank & Trust on Monday to support their work with mental wellness and transitional-age youth leaving the foster system.
The bank hosted the 22nd Community Dividends Awards, where it awarded $1 million to 195 nonprofit organizations from Santa Barbara and Ventura counties and awarded the Michael Towbes Community Impact Dividend to Casa Pacifica and Noah’s Anchorage Youth Center.
Early next year, the YMCA will be opening the first fully licensed transitional housing placement program for young adults, ages 18 to 21, who are exiting foster care in Santa Barbara County. The new program is possible through a partnership with the Santa Barbara Foundation and Steve Lyons, who together donated a house in downtown Santa Barbara to the YMCA.
“Youth and Family Services YMCA is a special place, and they do some pretty powerful work,” said Margo Byrne, president and CEO of the Channel Islands YMCA. “The continuum of care that we’re able to provide youth that just need that lift, that hand out to them to reach their full potential. That’s what we’re here to do, and we’ve been doing it for a long time in Santa Barbara County, and we are really excited about this next step.”
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