The YEF funding will support the high school-based trauma/grief & loss counseling and outreach services RAMS provides through the Wellness Centers. Over the course of the past 10 years of providing bilingual & bicultural services at the high school-based Wellness Centers, RAMS has identified gaps in service delivery for interventions for trauma/grief & loss. Community linkages have proven challenging due to the severe lack of resources for students & families, especially for those living in poverty. In the 2010-2011 school year, about 200 students receiving services through RAMS Wellness Centers’ Behavioral Health Counselors reported being affected by community violence and 450 youth reported grief & loss as one of their main issues. As issues of community violence occur abruptly, having enhanced trauma/grief & loss counseling services greatly strengthen the capacity of schools and the community to intervene. By intervening early and helping students identify feelings and learn strategies to manage strong emotions, we can enable them to function academically and socially in their lives. Furthermore, by providing immediate intervention, we aim to prevent or lessen the biological responses to trauma that often create academic barriers that snowball to close off further education and/or vocational opportunities. In the long term, students are taught coping and de-escalation skills to ameliorate the effects of trauma/grief & loss. Through community building and teaching positive coping skills, we aim to reduce at-risk behaviors including isolation, substance use/abuse, violence and retaliation while increasing retention in school and promoting academic success.
With the YEF funding, there will be enhanced capacity and resources to meet these growing needs of adolescents who are impacted by trauma, grief, and loss issues. Speaking about this grant, Kristin Chun, LMFT, RAMS Director of Behavioral Health Services at Wellness Centers said, “We are truly honored to have the inspiring support of YEF. In a time when economic support for community services is compromised, it’s invaluable to have acknowledgement from the private sector that supporting students to succeed emotionally and academically in schools is a priority. “
Founded in 1999, YEF, one of Yahoo! Inc.’s social responsibility programs is a unique grassroots philanthropic organization that brings together the talents, time, and financial resources of Yahoo! employees to serve the needs of communities around the globe. YEF is a unique foundation that is entirely employee driven and all the money is donated by employees as well as all the activities are run by a volunteer committee of Yahoo! employees.
