Because of the pandemic, Washington youth are facing increased trauma, social isolation, suicide risk, depression, heightened stress, and inter-personal conflict. Many are disconnected from school, peers, and other caring adults who they typically rely on for support. With tremendous job loss, COVID-19 has also put greater responsibilities on youth to financially support their families, friends and themselves.
That is why All In WA is announcing $2,115,000 in grant awards from All In WA’s COVID Relief Fund to expand and deepen support for Washington’s youth, their behavioral health, and well-being.
These grants will support 39 nonprofit community-based organizations and tribal entities who are working to improve behavioral health of young people (ages 10-24) throughout the state – especially in Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), and rural communities – who face heightened risk of mental illness, obstacles to virtual learning, and profound under-investment in essential behavioral health services. The grants will make behavioral health services more accessible for youth, from expanding social distancing and virtual program offerings, to covering costs of cellular devices and service plans so young people can access care and programs remotely, to expanding peer-led programs at a time of social isolation.
We’re working to ensure that Washington youth know that they’re not alone and have access to critical behavioral health resources necessary for enduring the challenges of this unprecedented time. Thank you for your support.
Youth Behavioral Health Grantees:
ADEFUA Cultural Education Workshop offers the Youth & Family Empowerment Rites of Passage experience that highlights the brilliance and strength of young women and provides behavioral health supports that lead to lasting outcomes. The program emphasizes the study of West African culture, music, song, and dance, provides counseling, career mentoring, and professional and socio-emotional skill development. Young women are also mentored by elders from the community. The program primarily serves African youth in King County.
All Girl Everything Ultimate Program (AGE UP) provides peer support, emotional resilience, and community connectedness for youth of color. Grant funding will support their leadership and social-justice workshop series to support South Seattle youth of color in strengthening emotional literacy skills and peer networks to build resilience in the face of pandemic isolation and stress. Their trauma-informed mental health work includes a robust peer-counseling model and generative somatic healing practices. The program primarily serves Asian American and Pacific Islander youth in King County. (AGE UP is fiscally sponsored by RVC Seattle.)
Asian Counseling and Referral Service works to increase Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) youth access to timely and culturally responsive mental health and engagement services through virtual “walk-in” and online chat strategies and expanded brief intervention, care coordination, and triage based on the youth’s needs. Staff also provide case management and linkages to help youth and caregivers access other social services and stabilize households. This program primarily serves AAPI youth in King County.
Children’s Home Society of Washington provides tutoring, mentoring, counseling, and healthy activities to children and youth and engages their parents in supporting their children’s learning. They offer a variety of programs, including academic support, counseling, mentoring, truancy and drop-out intervention, and comprehensive services for youth with complex behavioral needs. This grant will primarily serve Latinx youth in Central Washington, especially Walla Walla and Chelan Counties.
CHOOSE 180 offers a school-based diversion program for youth at risk of suspension and expulsion in middle and high schools. Their curriculum is designed to re-engage students in their education while simultaneously combatting trauma and supporting students in identifying and reaching their goals. In addition to their school-based curriculum, all program participants have access to an in-house behavioral specialist to address trauma, build coping skills, and support healthier relationships. The organization primarily serves BIPOC youth in King County.
Clark County Latino Youth Conference works to motivate youth to pursue a higher education or technical career, seek opportunities and engage in positive behaviors. Grant funding will be used to expand virtual programming options for Latinx youth and their families. This includes monthly skill building workshops co-created and co-led with youth, which are designed to build relational and personal leadership competencies within a Latinx cultural framework. The organization also offers the Parent Leadership Institute to Spanish-speaking parent cohorts. Clark County Latino Youth Conference primarily serves Latinx youth in Clark County and is fiscally sponsored by Scholarship Junkies
Community Passageways creates alternatives to incarceration for youth and young adults by rebuilding communities through committed relationships centered on love, compassion, and consistency. Funding will support CP-FIT, a therapeutic support for young people (12-24) who are at-risk, have been, or are currently involved with the legal system. The program uses multiple behavioral health interventions to build skills that promote emotional regulation, mindfulness, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, and reduce substance use and aggression. Youth can also attend Healing Circles, which include ways to address trauma, asset development, cultural history, and build life skills. The program primarily serves Black youth in King County.
Cowlitz Tribal Mental Health is focused on helping youth find strength and build resiliency. Youth receive monthly care packages with activities and supplies to assist in rebuilding connections through engagement in cultural activities and self-care. Youth therapists meet clients’ needs by weaving culture with evidence-based interventions. Therapy for individuals and families focuses on healing the family system, which is often experiencing multi-generational trauma. This program primarily serves Native youth in Cowlitz and Clark Counties.
Foundation for Youth Resiliency and Engagement (FYRE) offers behavioral health and resiliency programming for youth ages 12-24 in Okanogan County. Funding will increase access to services, peer support programming, and workshops directed at underserved and marginalized groups. FYRE also offers referrals and care coordination for substance use and mental health needs, transportation assistance, peer support, and catastrophe assistance. (This program is fiscally sponsored by Room One).
Interim CDA offers the Wilderness Inner-City Leadership Development (WILD) youth program, which nurtures pro-social behavior among both refugee and immigrant youth. WILD’s programs focus on environmental and food justice, urban agriculture, nutrition, and healthy cooking. Within this holistic framework, WILD youth explore the reasons behind the disproportionate impact of COVID in our communities and use this information to become youth advocates of change. This organization primarily serves Asian youth in King County.
International Community Health Services operates two comprehensive school-based health centers. Given the constraints of COVID, grant funding will be used to repurpose their mobile dental clinic to provide weekly behavioral health services in the neighborhoods where their students and families live. They will also expand their services to include family members and caregivers. This program primarily serves Latinx students in King County.
Korean Women’s Association provides culturally responsive and trauma-informed COVID-19 and racism behavioral health interventions that connect youth and their caregivers to behavioral health supports. Through their Culturally Responsive, Integrated & Strength-Based Parenting & Youth (CRISPY) program, Korean Women’s Association provides weekly one-to-one behavioral health interventions for: 1) parents of youth 10–15 yrs old with Incredible Years School Age curriculum; and 2) youth 16–24 yrs old, who also participate in youth development group sessions. The program primarily serves Asian youth in King and Snohomish Counties.
Lhaq’temish Foundation, in partnership with Lummi Behavioral Health and other Xwlemi Resilience Coalition partners, provides counseling services to over 1500 clients. Programs include one on one services, group counseling, anger management, and parenting classes, primarily for youth between the ages of 5-18 and 19-24 and their caretakers. Youth have access to mental health counselors as well as a peer support specialist. Lhaq’temish Foundation serves the Lummi community in Whatcom County.
M.H.A SPEAKOUT SPEAKUP empowers people to speak out and speak up about mental health awareness. Funding will be used to support their youth programming, including diversion outreach services, strengthening connections among youth peers, and adapting these programs for online interactive formats. Grant funds will also be used to enhance connections to other community partners that can serve young people and support their mental health needs. The organization primarily serves youth and their caregivers in Spokane County.
Madres de Casino Road offers the Dibujando mi futuro (DMF) program for Latinx girls between the ages of 12 and 21. The program focuses on the challenges during the teen and young adult years and connects with the unique concept of being Latinx and children of immigrant parents. DMF helps participants to learn about self-care, independence, and a vision for their future and mental health, all while connecting girls to each other. Grant funding will be used to expand the program and its services for Latinx girls in Snohomish County.
Mari’s Place for the Arts fosters creativity and self-confidence in children and youth through arts and cultural programming, including creative writing, drama, visual arts, and dance. Grant funds will be used to sustain and expand their current programs serving BIPOC youth, increasing the number and variety of program offerings. Grant funding will also be used to further develop their leadership and civic engagement programming for older youth. The organization serves Snohomish County.
New Developed Nations is an innovative program that uses music as a form of therapy. New Developed Nations assists clients in writing their stories through music (all genres), poetry, and journaling, while supporting clients to build self-help skills and realize their goal for overcoming addiction. Grant funding will be used to expand their programming, including building a mobile studio to reduce barriers to accessing services. The organization serves youth in Spokane County.
Nooksack Indian Tribe offers the “Nooksack Way of Life” program which provides drug and alcohol prevention programming with a focus on building cultural identity, preventing the onset of substance use, or limiting the development of problems associated with substance use. The program deepens youth connection to their culture as a prevention strategy. Grant funds will be used to sustain the core programming, purchase additional supplies, and increase the number of youth participating in the annual Canoe Journey, a culturally significant event. The organization serves Native youth in Whatcom County.
Northwest Outward Bound School (NWOBS), through its transformative wilderness courses, encourages students to test their strengths, challenge their fears and discover that they are far more capable than they ever thought possible. The program curriculum builds social-emotional skills while strengthening students’ mental and physical health. Grant funds will be used to ensure access for BIPOC students from King and Okanogan Counties, as well as provide climbing gear, boots, pre-course COVID-19 testing, and safety gear for students.
Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe offers the Youth Services Program, which provides behavioral health services to K-12, young adults up to age 25, and families. Programming for grades 4-12 include support groups, recreation, and seasonal outings while grades 6-12 have the addition of leadership, prevention activities, life skills training, and outings. Since COVID, prevention and well-being programming is provided five days a week over Zoom and youth also receive weekly supply kits. Grant funding will support ongoing programming, including class kits and ensuring remote access via cell or internet connectivity. This organization serves Native youth in Kitsap County.
Potlatch Fund supports Native organizations, community programs, artists, and culture keepers. The grant funds will be used to support youth behavioral health programs among Native and Tribal communities. Many of these programs draw on cultural connection to support youth and their resilience. This organization serves Native people across Washington.
Powerful Voices creates brave spaces for girls of color to take charge of their own power as leaders, igniting their abilities to confidently express themselves, build community, and act against injustices affecting their lives. Grant funding will support their work with 100 girls of color as they elevate their leadership and support their health and wellbeing, launch creative new programming due to COVID-19, and build a community of activists for social justice. The organization serves BIPOC youth who identify as girls and gender non-conforming youth in King County.
Progress Pushers guides, educates, and empowers black and brown youth and those most impacted by societal systems by connecting them to mentors and much needed skills and opportunities so they can live in their greatness. They use the Credible Messenger Curriculum Model that provides a transformational process to assist, mentor, and meet the needs of each youth. Grant funding will be used to increase youth-led and peer-to-peer services and support general operating costs for the program. The organization primarily serves Black youth in King County.
Renegades for Life Inc. works to change the lives of families and youth through intervention supports that keep them together and provide comprehensive tools that support their ability to achieve a better life. Renegades for Life uses multi-systemic therapy, case management, and trauma-informed care to improve the ability of youth to make good decisions, consciously choose his/her peer group and support the family’s ability to encourage positive youth behavior. The organization primarily serves Black youth in King County.
Rod’s House builds authentic connections with young people ages 13-24, supports them in feeling respected and secure in who they are, empowers them to reach their full potential, and positively connects them to the community. They serve youth by providing basic necessities, education and employment case management support, housing assistance, and emergency shelter. Grant funding will be used to hire a behavioral health specialist(s) to facilitate therapy at their Resource Center, as well as facilitate therapy and conduct crisis interventions with their outreach team. The organization serves youth in Yakima County.
Sea Mar Community Health Center, through its Seattle Adolescent Clinic, serves patients between the ages of 13 and 21 to meet their mental health needs. They provide assessment and evaluation for mental health disorders including anxiety, depression, PTSD, and trauma, as well as case management, individual and group therapy, and family therapy. The Adolescent Clinic also commonly works with Sea Mar’s medical facility to also provide coordinated care for eating disorders, gender care and treatment for behavioral disorders. Grant funding will be used to provide additional staffing support and equipment. This organization primarily serves the Latinx population in King County.
Somali Health Board focuses on reducing health disparities for the Somali community. Grant funding will increase and sustain behavioral health supports for Somali youth ages 10-24 in South King County, equipping the organization to meet escalating demand for culturally-and linguistically-relevant mental health services for youth in the pandemic. Their services include mental health outreach and education, youth leadership and civic engagement, and newly launching mental health counseling services.
Southeast Youth and Family Services offers developmentally appropriate, highly relational, individual and group psychotherapy for immigrant and refugee youth and their caregivers. During a time of increased isolation, their services foster connection and resilience, helping to close the chasm between adolescents, their caregivers, and their peers. They also provide workshops, case management and connection to essential needs resources. Grant funds will support services for youth and their caregivers in King County.
Teenagers Plus focuses on holistic youth development among ethnic, immigrant, African, and other minorities, refugees, and asylees. Their Sister-Sister mentoring program supports adolescents and teen development by linking them with qualified community-based mentors for companionship, guidance on career choice, and personal and culturally appropriate/relevant life skills development. For boys, they also offer the Big-brother Initiative to promote resilience, positive coping skills, cultural immersion programs and sporting activities to build healthy choices, and community integration. The organization serves King and Pierce Counties.
The Rural Alliance supports schools with training and resources focused on learning social and emotional skills that are associated with positive developmental outcomes. These behavioral health education services and supports are provided to school personnel in rural and remote school districts without developed resources, programs, or mental health staff. This grant will support a partnership with the Washington State University College of Nursing, ESD 101, and several other partners to establish youth mental health therapy via telemedicine for students in five rural and remote school districts. The organization serves multiple counties in Central and Eastern Washington.
The Suquamish Tribe, through their Wellness Department, focuses on ensuring the mental health, safety, and well-being of Suquamish children in the foster system as they face isolation and increased rates of neglect and abuse. Their programs and services include: substance use disorder prevention education and intervention support, mental health counseling, medication management, education, and behavioral support, facilitated boys and girls groups, play therapy, art therapy and family therapy. The Tribe primarily serves Native children and youth in Kitsap County.
The Unity Center builds healthy and resilient communities by working collaboratively with families to solve the problems facing vulnerable youth. They do this by providing tools through mentorship that lead to resiliency, the creation of social capital, and self-sufficiency. This grant will fund the continuation and expansion of their Kids in Search of Success mentoring program that provides mental health support for youth ages 12-18 and their families. The program primarily supports African American youth in Clark County.
Tieton Arts & Humanities creates and implements artistic and cultural programs. Their youth programs offer creative and social-emotional support opportunities for youth and caregivers of the Upper Yakima Valley, with hybrid online and in-person components as the constraints of COVID allow. Grant funding will support youth access to the out-of-school arts programming throughout the year, especially among Latinx students. The organization serves Yakima County.
Urban Family Center Association provides a web of care and support around marginalized Black and Brown youth and families by providing positive youth development, family support, and neighborhood safety. Based on a whole child approach, Urban Family provides love and care for the children and families so they can discover their purpose and meaning in life. Their services include mentoring, sports programs and advocacy and leadership programming for youth. The organization serves King County.
Voices of Pacific Island Nations inspires Pacific Islander students and their families by providing high quality and culturally responsive services and resources to close educational and opportunity gaps, and to serve as a bridge to develop stronger relationships between schools, students, parents, and community. Grant funding will be used to expand services to youth and caregivers, enhance outreach to ensure youth and caregivers know where to turn for support, and support peer-to-peer tutoring services. The organization serves Kitsap County.
Wasat creates space to connect people and explore the American Muslim experience through art, love, and learning. Grant funding will scale Wasat’s HeartCentric community check-in, a wellness program rooted in sacred traditions. HeartCentric Community Check-in is a free holistic and virtual wellness program that began during the pandemic. Counseling is provided to support BIPOC youth and families with self-care practices and facilitated discussion on healing traumatic experiences through sacred wisdom and traditions. The community check-ins are a virtual space for healing, connecting of hearts, and community mobilization. The organization primarily serves King County.
You Grow Girl! serves female-identifying youth with an array of community-based behavioral health services, both in person and through telehealth, that include individual, family, and group outpatient counseling, family wraparound support (WISe), health care navigation (Health Home), crisis intervention, and sustainability case management. All activities are carried out by a diverse and committed clinical team comprised of therapists, case managers, therapeutic youth peer mentors, social workers, a psychologist, and peer support specialists. Grant funding will enable the expansion of behavioral health services and sustainability programming to serve systems-involved, female-identifying youth of color in Pierce County.
Youth Dynamics provides a safe, nurturing environment with opportunities for youth ages 11 to 24 to flourish and grow in leadership, relationships, and healthy behaviors. The organization uses adventure recreation as a means to promote relationships, individual growth, leadership skills, perseverance, and community engagement. Grant funding will be used for the 12-day Leadership Pursuits program, with a focus on behavioral health among 16-19 year olds. The program draws youth from across the state, especially Chelan and Pierce Counties.
Youth Eastside Services (YES) helps children and youth from birth to age 22, and their families, overcome the devastating effects of behavioral issues, mental illness, substance use, and trauma. With bilingual/bicultural staff, YES will implement culturally relevant pre-treatment sessions for Latinx youth and their families, to help bridge the cultural gap in accessing needed behavioral health services and reduce the potential for treatment drop-out. The organization serves King County.