|
ETTIE LEE YOUTH & FAMILY SERVICES
Contact:
Vicki Mastro
626/960-4861
vicki_m@ettielee.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Kids in the Foster Care System are helped by Women of Faith
February 2011, Redlands, CA: Jean Arnott, leader of the Women of Faith, an interfaith service community hosted by the Redlands, CA Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has started a whole new program. It’s called Birthday-in-a-Box. If one of the residents in Ettie Lee’s Redlands’ Home is reunited with his family before the group has a chance to celebrate his birthday at the home, a Birthday-in-a Box is sent to him, at his home, for him to enjoy. “We establish a relationship with each and every boy that comes to the Redlands Home,” says Arnott. “Part of that relationship involves remembering his birthday and we want to make sure that he knows we remember and care about him even after he has left the Ettie Lee Home.” Birthdays are only a small part of what the Women of Faith in Redlands make possible for the boys at the Ettie Lee Home. “The Women of Faith are a one of a kind treasure,” said Clayton Downey, President and CEO of Ettie Lee Youth & Family Services, the not for profit that manages residential facilities and a foster family adoption agency, “they are not only involved during many of the holidays during the year – from the popular winter season’s celebrations to Mother’s and Father’s Day, they also celebrate Valentine’s Day and have purchased recreation equipment such as a foos ball table to movie tickets.”
A Sample Birthday-In-A-Box Kit
For more than 60 years Ettie Lee has served the complex needs of at-risk youth with emotional and behavioral problems and their families in Southern California. When Miss Ettie Lee opened the first group home in 1950 she introduced the model of providing a family atmosphere. Although Ettie Lee has grown significantly since 1950, providing a family atmosphere has been so successful that we still follow that model in all of our nine group homes and 30 foster homes. Last year Ettie Lee served 342 unduplicated boys and girls and their families: 69% were Hispanic, 17% African-American, 11.5% Caucasian, 1.3% Asian/Pacific Islander; .4% American Indian; .8% other and over 97% were from low-income and/or disadvantaged families. Ettie Lee’s residential group homes expertise is in serving older children – teenage boys (aged 13-18) – who are on probation. All of group homes are located in residential areas and provide family-style residential treatment that focuses on the importance of being active in the community to develop the skills for success in life. Ettie Lee also operates a therapeutic Foster Family Agency and Adoption Agency. It is located in Covina and the boys and girls are placed in the loving homes of foster parents who are trained and licensed.
Ettie Lee Youth & Family Services is a nonprofit child welfare agency serving the complex needs of at-risk youth who have been abused, neglected or abandoned. Its mission is to assist troubled youth who are in need of guidance and support to develop values and skills that will facilitate their success in life. Ettie Lee complies with the highest standards of Community Care Licensing, Los Angeles County Department of Children & Family Services, and Los Angeles County Department of Probation. Ettie Lee is accredited by the California Alliance for Children & Families and the Council on Accreditation. |