Page 29 - Sonoma County Gazette February 2020
P. 29

WELLNESS cont’d on page 29
Also, it seems that having any stable adult that bonds with a child during the early years can help protect them from the worse effects of the traumas, even if their parents are inconsistent. So, pre-school, mentoring classes, after-school activities, church programs, etc. will all go a long way towards softening the wounds that these children carry with them.
  Conclusions: We have come a long way towards understanding some of the contributing factors for chronic substance abuse, mental health, and physical problems. Early childhood insecurity and trauma seem to be an important link to these long-range, multi-generational problems.
We are also gaining some understanding of solutions. Early childhood
and family support programs have been shown to mitigate the impacts of trauma on young children and can produce long-term improvements for people. Many of the Health leaders in the County are working to expand and strengthen the preventive programs that are already in place. It will take a few years to see the results, but we all feel that the next generation is our biggest resource and deserves the best chance they can have.
  Social Advocates for Youth (SAY) expands counseling services at three Sonoma County Library Branches
In partnership with Sonoma County Library, SAY’s mental health clinicians will be hosting a series of weekly and bi-weekly drop-in wellness groups
for youth ages 12-19. These groups will be focused on supporting mental wellness and healthy ways to cope with challenges.
Possible topics include:
•making meaningful choices.
  • normal responses to loss and change • identifying complex emotions
SAY operates the Coffee House Teen Shelter, Sonoma County’s only teen shelter; the Mary and Jose Tamayo Village, an affordable housing program for former foster youth and homeless young adults; and the SAY Finley Dream Center campus, a unified campus with short-term and long-term housing for transitional-aged youth, individual and family therapy, and career and life readiness programs. INFO: https://www.saysc.org/
VISIT our ONLINE Edition SonomaCountyGazette.com
Bi-weekly and weekly drop-in groups are currently being hosted at Rincon Valley Regional Library and Sonoma County History & Genealogy Library, respectively, through March.
 Weekly drop-in groups will start at the Sebastopol Regional Library on February 7, 2020.
SAY’s Counseling Department offers mental health services to children, youth, and their families across Sonoma County, serving clients with cultural- and age-appropriate services.
 These services are offered on-site at the SAY Dream Center, at satellite sites, in family homes, and in 18 elementary, middle and high schools
across the county. Last year, 1,819 children, youth and families accessed SAY’s counseling services.
Social Advocates for Youth was founded in 1971and has become the leader in youth services for Sonoma County. SAY’s work is focused on helping youth in three core areas: housing, counseling and careers.
 2/20 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 29















































































   27   28   29   30   31