“I believe that if every kid born on the Eastside has a system wrapped around them to support them as they grow up, our community would be so much healthier. Every player involved in a kid’s life – parents, educators, counselors, schools, organizations – must play their own role, but collectively work towards a single goal that paints a picture of success for kids,” says Patti Skelton-McGougan, executive director of Youth Eastside Services (YES).
And that is why YES is at the same table with more than 50 organizations, as a partner of Eastside Pathways. For Patti working collaboratively is not new, but what is meaningful to her is that Eastside Pathways is showing them different ways to work across organizations and sectors, driving toward systemic changes to make a deeper positive impact on kids in the community. “Sometimes you have to look at changing things, at breaking down or building systems that best meet the needs of the community,” she says.
YES helps kids and youth from all incomes and backgrounds who are facing mental health and emotional issues; kids who fall through the cracks and need structure and support. It has a wide range of programs and services around mental health, substance abuse, and education for prevention. “We have seen kids with some pretty serious mental health issues. We see a lot of suicide, anxiety, and depression, and drug use. We are losing them to these issues and it breaks my heart,” says Patti. “We want to be the first place they turn to for help when they go through difficult times.”
The organization has dedicated teams working in the Bellevue and Lake Washington School Districts who reach out to the kids, educating them about the dangers of substance abuse and guiding them to make better and healthier choices.
YES is a co-leader of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Collaborative that has been set up by Eastside Pathways to help build a healthier community. YES is helping to shape the partnership’s direction in this area by providing the physical space and their staff (like Assistant Director David Downing as a collaborative leader) to assist facilitators from two other partner organizations in guiding the conversations. Patti is hopeful about the positive impact of building deeper partnerships to coordinate programs, support services, systems, and funding within schools and the community.
Patti is appreciative of what Eastside Pathways offers to its partners – the opportunity to hear more about what other organizations are doing and the data gathering that is beneficial in understanding the needs of the community and setting goals. The cross-organizational partnerships coming out of the Summer and Extended Learning collaborative made her think about how they could partner with other organizations to benefit kids coming to YES. The goal is to increase the engagement with the kids, nurture them, and make them whole again. “What they really want is someone to be there for them, loving them,” she says emphatically.
Article written by Sujata Agrawal, communications strategist and storyteller, and volunteer writer for Eastside Pathways