Youth and Families First is growing and moving forward by adding  two new positions and  a new program.  We now are welcoming our new counseling program for the LGBTQ population! It is an exciting way Youth and Families First can spread our mission to helping teens and young adults deal with life. Youth and Families First also has added a new position of Director of Programs which is filled by Nicholas Zamorano who was formerly our AOC (Probation) Coordinator. His previous position was filled by Horacio Sanchez who is ready to provide excellent services in our AOC program.  We are excited to have them working in their new. Welcome Horacio and Nicholas!

Youth and Families First will be more efficient, serve more at-risk clients and dedicate more family support resources to client care by upgrading their paper records to a web-based electronic records system.

“This system will provide us with real time updates for client data,” said Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Youth and Families First Kourtney Stafford.  “As a result we will have centralized data that will be easily accessible and spend less staff time processing paper documents.”

The new electronic records system will cost $40,000 to purchase and $24,000 to maintain, so Youth and Families First will be developing a donation campaign to raise money for this much needed support services system.

“It will be the best of the best,” said Stafford. “Raising capital for this project will help us grow and serve more clients while doing more with less.”

All data of the new web-based electronic records system will be stored on a server according to The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996. Details of the donation campaign will be developed and approved at the October meeting of the Youth and Families First Board of Directors.

“Anyone can donate,” said Stafford. “The donation campaign will be launched before the holidays so you can donate for tax purposes”

If you are interested in finding out more about how you can donate to Youth and Families First, please call 623.435.6840 for more information

Youth and Families First is a direct services provider for youth counseling, skills training, and mentoring. Please contact us for more information about programs at Youth and Families First.

Horacio Sanchez has been promoted from team leader to program coordinator of the Youth and Family First Mentoring Program. “Horacio will oversee the day-to-day operations of the mentoring program, manage agency mentor referrals and supervise mentor staff,” Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Youth and Families First Kourtney Stafford.  “Horacio will be making a great deal of improvements and creating new strategies for the mentoring program in staff development and overall support services. He has held the positions he is now supervising, so he fully understands the needs of the staff and the clients,” said Stafford. “He has will make the program more robust.”

Nick Zamorano has been promoted from program coordinator to director of programs, a newly created position to oversee the day-to-day functional outcomes of all Youth and Families First programs. “Nick will manage the program coordinators and the operations,” said Stafford. Working closely with program coordinators like Horacio, Nick will assist in setting goals and meeting the contractual needs of Youth and Families First. “Nick has held several leadership roles here and will leverage that support service experience and his skills in laying out the vision to take Youth and Families First in the direction we want to go,” said Stafford.

Youth and Families First provides counseling, skills training, and mentoring for at-risk youth and their families. Contact Youth and Families First for more information.

Youth and Family Services recently welcomed Marta Grisson, MAPC to the staff as the clinic launches a specific menu of behavioral health services for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning (LGBTQ) community.

Grisson who will provide individual, family and group therapy services for the LGBTQ community has also previously worked counseling homeless youth. “Youth and Family First is taking everything to a new level because they are offering targeted behavioral health services that affect home/school and personal life for LGBTQ youth so they can grow into themselves,” said Grisson.

“When I first arrived in Phoenix 15 years ago, there was a great need for very basic services for the LGBTQ community which has since been filled by a number of organizations,” said Grisson who is also an active volunteer for a variety of outreach groups for the LGBTQ community such as the QNetwork, the Maricopa County LGBT Consortium and 1 in 10 which she helped establish. “In Phoenix, we are all in the process of building a more connected LBGTQ community so that we can develop better programs that address the current issues that LGBTQ youth are facing.”

“My work is focused on helping LGBTQ youth be comfortable with themselves,” said Grisson who is originally from California and earned a double master’s degree from Ottwa University. “I want to help them find their place in the world and let them know that there is a place in the world for them.”

 All the services that Youth and Families First provides can be found on their newly re-launched website: http://yffaz.org or visit us on Facebook to find out about upcoming Youth and Families First events. Let us know how we can help you and your family today.

Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Youth and Families First Kourtney Stafford was recently elected as one of the co-chairs of the Maricopa County LGBT Consortium.

“As chair I want to be an ally for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning (LGBTQ)  community and I want to provide quality services for youth, parents of youth or LGBTQ parents,” said Stafford who become the co-chair in June 2011. “I want to better understand the needs of the community and be a resource.”

Stafford will serve for two years in co-chair position for the Maricopa County LGBT Consortium for which she has been a member since the group was founded in May 2009.

According their website (www.lgbtconsortium.com), the Consortium is comprised of individual community members, businesses, corporations, and non-profit organizations, key stakeholders, politicians, social service agencies, and advocacy groups.

Stafford and the members of the Consortium work to accomplish the joint mission and strategic plan of the group to affect positive change in the LGBTQ community.

Stafford sees a variety of goals that she is looking forward to sheparding during her two-year term as co-chair. “Overall the purpose of the Consortium is to strengthening the LGBTQ dialogue.  In the near future, we will develop training sessions on how to be welcoming to the LGBTQ community when offering non-profit, governmental agency and business services.”

The Consortium has several work groups that are carrying out the strategic plan for the organization. An example of these work groups is the Care Worker Group. “The intent is to outreach to a multi-system of governmental services such as the Arizona Department of Economic Security, Arizona Department of Health and the Arizona Department of Corrections so that they can provide quality services specifically to LGBTQ youth,” said Stafford. “We talk to one another about issues and stay current on what the needs and challenges are in the community right now. As a result, we have all become a resource for one another and the LGBTQ community.”

All the services that Youth and Families First provides can be found on their newly re-launched website: http://yffaz.org or visit us on Facebook to find out about upcoming Youth and Families First events. Let us know how we can help you and your family today.

Whether they are paid staff or volunteers, the staff at Youth and Families First makes the difference at this non-profit in Glendale, Arizona offering counseling, skills training and development, living skills training and behavioral health prevention, promotion and education.

“All staff are community based and work with the youth and families in their own environments, “ said  Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Youth and Families First Kourtney Stafford. “Our staff develops creative therapy models and solutions based around the specific needs of each child because traditional therapies are not often a fit for every client.”

Both volunteer and court-ordered youth and families benefit from staff members assessing each case individually and addressing their needs with creative solutions to achieve success in mentoring and direct support service programs.

Most recently Youth and Families First began to reach out to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning (LGBTQ) youth with new programs providing this community with individual, family and group counseling, peer support, mentoring and behavior coaching.

“What sets Youth and Family Services apart from other non-profits is the way our staff gives so generously of themselves to serve these children and their families,” said Stafford.

All the services that Youth and Families First provides can be found on their newly re-launched website: http://yffaz.org or visit us on Facebook to find out about upcoming Youth and Families First events. Let us know how we can help you and your family today.

“This community has specific and unique needs beyond every day challenges,” said Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Youth and Families First Kourtney Stafford about the new LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning) programs that are being offered at Youth and Families First, a non-profit in Glendale.

The new group of services being offered to the LGBT community are mentoring, peer support and counseling. “We are using existing funds to hire a new staff member to focus just on these programs,” said Stafford whose current staff are also trained in helping LGBTQ youth and families.

“There will also be transgender peer-to-peer support,” said Stafford whose program will serve volunteer, as well as, court-ordered and referred LGBTQ youth and adults. The guiding principle behind this program is to provide youth, young adults and families with empowerment, skills development, HOPE and advocacy within a safe and welcoming environment.

On Saturday, June 18^th Youth and Families First will reach out to the community by holding a fundraiser and meet-and-greet at Cici’s Pizza Buffet (3911 E Thomas Rd. in Phoenix). Staff will be available to answer any questions from 5 to 9 pm about the new LGBTQ services and other programs that are offered. During that time because they will be raffling off some cool prizes including shirts, and hats.

Please make plans to join us for a wonderful night of fellowship, food, and fun.

Contact Youth and Families First to find out more about their services for the LGBTQ community.

An autistic child with diabetes and other medical problems was acting out. He had tantrums three to five times a day which was difficult to manage by his grandmother and grandfather who are raising him. After Nicole Johnson from Youth and Family Services worked with this child, he had a 30 day period without any tantrums and without anyone having to restrain him.

“At Youth and Families First, we create a model of services around the child,” said Program Coordinator Nicole Johnson, BHT. “We create therapies and solutions that work with the families.”

“We got him to use his words to express how he felt and also encouraged him to do productive physical activity such as using his trampoline, said Nicole who taught this child’s grandmother and grandfather how to hug him with a light touch and then applying more pressure to address his motor integration needs. “Now when he is anxious, he tells his grandparents, ‘I need a hug.’ Previously he was acting out to get the result of the restraining because that was his way to feel safe when he was unsure about his environment. Now he is verifying his safety with a hug.”

Often traditional therapies may not be a fit for these children who have intense behavioral issues and are at the intense end of the spectrum, so the staff at Youth and Family Services finds creative ways to find solutions for these youth and their families.

Nicole oversees the provision of independent living skills at Youth and Family Services. Nicole teaches youth how to process their feelings of anger or anxiety, problem solve and even budget their finances. The goal is to increase the emotional intelligence of the youth while collaborating with the family members and teaching parents and guardians how to cope. Youth and Family Services also assists these families in identifying additional natural services for the child.
“There is hope,” said Nicole “There is not a single behavior that they can exhibit that we will kick them out of the program for. From the intake to service plan we work with the family to creatively problem solve and create an environment of successful for these children.”

About Youth and Families First
Youth and Families First is a newly formed non-profit, Direct Services Provider. We provide intensive direct support services to youth and families who are at risk and may have multisystemic involvement. We partner with youth with a variety of different needs and in the locations that best fit the youth and their family. Some of these include, but are not limited to the following: youth with mental and behavioral health issues, those who are part of the Juvenile Justice system, youth who are in out of home placement or are returning to their home or community from out of home placement, and youth that struggle with behavioral issues at home, school, or in their community.

“I understand ­where these inner-city kids are coming from, said Horatio Sanchez. “There were all of these programs that I didn’t take advantage of as a kid and I want to see others use the resources that are available to them.”

Horatio Sanchez is a mentor working with youth on probation at Youth and Families First, a non-profit, in Glendale, Arizona providing intensive direct support services to youth and families who are at risk. Sanchez and other mentors work with these at-risk youth to help them to get a job, build a resume and be a pro-active and social member of society.

“My background is in finance and insurance which really comes in handy, “said Sanchez who finally had the opportunity to pursue his passion for giving back after being laid off “While it is a big shift for me in career, I use my personal sales experience to teach these kids how to write a resume and be successful in a job interview. I know what a good hire is and I teach them about it.”

The primary objective at the Youth and Family First mentoring program is to empower youth and families for life long success by taking a hands-on approach.

“We go the extra mile. I take kids to the library and show them how to use the materials and learn more about resumes,” Sanchez. “We take them through a step-by-step process on how to write their objectives and references. These are kids are 16 and 17 years old and they really do want a job. We provide the tools to help get them there. We built it with them.”

Sanchez says that every mentor experience is different for him and the other mentors at Youth and Families First. Creating a resume and getting a job is just the beginning. The staff at Youth and Family First strives to inspire hope and foster strong community connections for the at-risk youth they work with.

“I drive these kids from Phoenix to Glendale and I often hear comments like they didn’t realize there were so many trees in this metro Phoenix,” said Sanchez. “I want to take them out of the space they were in and show them a whole new world where they matter and they can achieve.”

About Youth and Families First
Youth and Families First is a newly formed non-profit, Direct Services Provider. We provide intensive direct support services to youth and families who are at risk and may have multisystemic involvement. We partner with youth with a variety of different needs and in the locations that best fit the youth and their family. Some of these include, but are not limited to the following: youth with mental and behavioral health issues, those who are part of the Juvenile Justice system, youth who are in out of home placement or are returning to their home or community from out of home placement, and youth that struggle with behavioral issues at home, school, or in their community.