Urban Services

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Mission

Urban Services YMCA is the social service branch of the YMCA of San Francisco. We provide life-changing programs that build healthy families, successful communities, and educational excellence throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Our organization works to develop programs that build family resilience and stability as the communities we serve experience overwhelming risk factors (e.g., violence, substance abuse, poverty, etc.) that cause families to become splintered and routed into services that do not address root causes behind actions. Our organization works to fill this gap and alleviate the stress on the city’s overburdened system of care.

History

Urban Services YMCA grew out of three of the original eight-chartered state Youth Service Bureaus (YSBs) operating at the time in San Mateo County . Recognizing a need to impact a broader range of communities in Bay Area, the YMCA of San Francisco chartered the Urban Services branch in 1995 to guarantee access of YMCA resources to at-risk families. We began delivering community-based services with HOOPS – a twilight basketball league – and a public safety AmeriCorps grant, offering peer counseling, tutoring, and structured recreation.

Experience

Since opening our doors, we have grown to provide comprehensive wrap around services including:

· Federally Funded Building Futures Mentoring Services throughout the nation that provide individual mentoring relationships for youth displaying signs of depression, withdraw, and issues with anger management.

·  Truancy Intervention Services in partnership with the San Francisco Mayor’s Office, District Attorney, Police Department, and a host of others to provide school re-engagement case managers for students at-risk of dropping out.

·  Family Advocacy, Domestic Violence Counseling, Adult Job Development, Case Management, and more provided by staff from our Family Resource Centers in the OMI, Potrero Hill, and Western Addition.

· Youth Leadership, Academic Support, Advanced Enrichment Activities and more delivered through twelve (12) afterschool program sites including the OMI/Excelsior Beacon Center, Malcolm X Academy Elementary, Starr King Elementary, International Studies Academy High School, Downtown High School, Ida B. Wells Continuation School, and more.

·  Mental Health Counseling and Trauma Recovery Services that provide youth and families with free access to licensed therapists who address serious behavioral and emotional issues.

·  Gang Intervention Programming made possible through street outreach workers provided through the OMI/Excelsior Beacon Center.

·  Case Mangement and Job Development for Transitional Aged Youth.