Hope & Courage

Summer 2009

UACF INSTITUTE FOR FAMILY AND YOUTH LEADERSHIP

United Advocates for Children and Families has secured a grant from The California Endowment to establish The Institute for Family and Youth Leadership.

The Mission of the Institute is, “To promote the emotional, behavioral and social well-being of children, youth and families through transformational leadership.” It will build on community support systems that help families  reconnect with the  ordinary resources and supports of everyday community life. The goal is to keep children and youth safe, healthy, at home, and in school and to allow parents to work and be financially secure.

Through the Institute’s work, families will become empowered to coach, mentor, lead, and use their lived experience to bring a positive transformation to the mental health system. The Institute will build bridges between family members, mental health professionals and the community at large to help children, youth and their families dealing with mental illness.

The Institute will work on research development, training, technical assistance, publications and special projects. In research development, the Institute will be looking at evidence based practices, practice based evidence and community defined research. UACF’s renowned Educate, Equip and Support (EES) training as well as other training programs will be offered through the Institute. Also included in training will be support groups and family empowerment teams, offering peer-to-peer training and distance learning opportunities.

Technical assistance will be through an 800 phone number and internet message boards. Parent partners and families will be able to get information on mental health resources in their area and on how to access those resources. The Institute will publish a newsletter, monographs and self-help publications to provide parent partners and families with the latest information on children’s mental health. In addition, the Institute will take on special projects in the areas of early childhood mental health, school-based programs, juvenile justice and transitional age youth.

Vickie Mendoza is the Director of UACF’s Institute for Family and Youth Leadership. She brings her own lived experience of raising three children with mental illness. Two are currently transitional age youth and one is in the children’s mental health system. Vickie was also a parent partner for seven years. She has helped and supported  many families as they find the services they need in the mental health, juvenile justice, and child welfare systems.