Highlights
Last month, our residents hiked their way toward success! Check out these pictures from our January hiking trips and see more on our Facebook:
Partner Spotlight
Central Valley Sports
Central Valley Sports was established in 2008 as a retail sporting goods store. It has since evolved into a professional screen printing and embroidery company that takes pride in its quality products. Central Valley Sports always looks for new and innovative ways to provide their customers with exemplary service, which is why KYJO chose them to print and embroider all the clothing for our #FEARLESS campaign and branding efforts. Central Valley Sports knows the details matter, which is why they are this month’s spotlight partner!
KYJO Rock Star Award
This Month’s Rock Star: Angie Keys
Angie was vital in helping us secure our recent Short-Term Residential Treatment Program certification, because she’s always willing to do what’s needed for the sake of our team! As our Admission Coordinator and Mental Health Quality Assurance Officer, it’s Angie’s duty to ensure our placements are filled and managed appropriately. That’s a pretty difficult job, what with the constantly changing landscape of regulations, but Angie’s tuned in and understands that the ability to adapt to change is key to our success. Her motto is, “It’s handled,” and she’s always right when she’s on the case! That’s why Angie Keys is our KYJO Rock Star this month.
Residential Youth Homes - Highlights
– The KYJO Residential Youth Homes Team
Foster Family Agency - Highlights
On January 14, we threw our annual holiday party for our resource families at United Skate Clovis. Parents, children, and KYJO staff had a blast skating together, dancing, eating pizza, and playing games. Foster family agency staff awarded each resource family with KYJO swag and a certificate of appreciation. Thank you to all of our amazing foster families for coming out and letting us celebrate you. We appreciate all the hard work and dedication you offer to the children in your homes!
This month, we also welcomed a new foster family to our agency, Susan Elms. Susan has previous experience as a foster parent in Merced County, and she recently moved to Fresno to start a new chapter in her life. We are excited to welcome Susan and her family to the KYJO family!
– Sienna Curtin, FFA Operations Manager
Mental Health Care - Highlights
“New year, new me!” This saying means something different to everyone. Here at KYJO, our Mental Health Department took this saying and ran with it, creating a new perspective for serving the youth we work with. What exactly is this new perspective? It’s trauma-informed care.
Trauma-informed care is a strengths-based framework that allows us to work with our residents without re-traumatizing them, by understanding the impact and trauma that their lived experiences have caused them. As professionals, we have to stop asking the question, “What’s wrong with them?,” and start asking, “What happened to them?”
Trauma-informed care is about being less judgmental and more compassionate. It is about uplifting our residents and allowing them to see that they are survivors – not victims. We need to empower our youth to feel a sense of control over their lives. We do this by offering them safety, trustworthiness, transparency, peer support, and empowerment. We also need to understand their cultural, historical, and gender issues. We need to get to know our residents in order to truly help them overcome their pasts and see a better future for their lives.
-Oscar Perez, Case Manager
Monthly Motivation
When You Don’t Know What to Do Next, Trust Your Process
Our final 2019 goal was to successfully meet the requirements to become a Short-Term Residential Treatment Program. Through teamwork and perseverance, we accomplished that mission!
There was no easy way to accomplish this goal, but the path had been set before us – step by step. Each step had a purpose and was essential to reaching our destination.
When we trust in the process that’s laid out before us, it relieves us of the burden of “figuring out” the future. There’s no need to stress about the unknown when you trust in the process and believe your path is laid out as it should be.
So next time you are thinking about the future and stressing, think about what the next step in your process should be. Then, do that thing. Repeat this until you’ve accomplished your goal, and nothing will be able to stop you.
Kevin Jordan
Executive Director