I have been a donor, volunteer and staff member of Friends of Youth beginning in 1996. This organization always puts the needs of the youth and families they serve first and foremost in their organizational values and in practice. They consistently hire knowledgeable and caring staff who go above and beyond to offer the best and most meaningful service to their clients.
Friends of Youth is an exceedingly efficiently run youth servie agency. Their misson drives programming for youth highly at-risk of drug abuse, homlessness, mental health issues, early pregnancy/parenting and truancy. Their programs deliver outcomes that are clearly measurable and produce excellent results for the young people served.
I sit as an advisor to their Healthy Start program that is a partnership of 5 youth service agencies around King County that annually case manage, mentor and coach more than 300 young parents during their first pregnancy to the baby's third birthday.
The outcomes include reduction of child abuse, and repeat pregnancies, and immunizations and current well baby care as measured against young parents in the unserved population. Included are services that support these parents in early learning activities that take advantage of the most recent brain development research and school readiness techniques to prepare the child for school success.
Review from Guidestar