This week’s Community Corner features Youth Villages and their “Holiday Heroes” program! Brother Love is joined in the studio by Kenya Kilpatrick and Rae Ryan, two of the main drivers of the cause. Their website lays out their mission statement best, saying, “Youth Villages is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to helping children with emotional and behavioral problems and their families live successfully.” Serving over 9,000 kids, this can be achieved through 4 main branches: Treatment foster care (TFC), Group Homes, Intercept, and Life Set.
TFC is for kids in foster care who need a home. This can either be temporary but also can lead to adoption if need be. The Group Homes are on-site housing for children who need a little more therapeutic work/time away from home. The children still attend school, they just are given more attention and care. Intercept, alternatively, works with biological homes directly in an effort to avoid having to remove them from the home. Life Set is a program specifically targeted toward the youth who are aging out of custody. This multi-branch approach has shown to be incredibly impactful.
Holiday Heroes is a seasonal program that aims to normalize the holiday season for these families. Kids are given the chance to make 3 wishes that are granted by people in the area who shop for them. They encourage the kids to ask for something fun, like something that everyone in their class at school has. Necessities are already provided year-round, and this is meant to be a special treat for the holiday season. They need volunteers to shop and they also accept donations for this great cause! Programs like Youth Villages provide a ripple effect that spreads by lowering incarceration rates and easing the strain on other social services, and any help goes a long way.
If you want to donate or shop for one of the youth or families (deadline of Dec 6th), here!
