Adolescent Counseling Services (ACS). Adolescent Counseling Services works to “address the emotional and developmental needs of adolescents and their families in a changing society.” ACS serves Santa Clara and San Mateo counties through three programs: a group home, an on-Campus Counseling Program in area secondary schools, (including Jordan, Terman & J.L.Stanford Middle Schools and Gunn & Palo Alto High Schools) and an outpatient substance abuse program. For more information, visit the ACS website at www.acs-teens.org or contact ACS at 424-0852.
Family Resources. Family Resources works with the City of Palo Alto and is an information clearinghouse for services, resources and programs available in our community. To disseminate this information, Family Resources uses a website, desktop “kiosks” of information and trained “Ambassadors”, people specially trained to have an in-depth understanding of the community’s assets and how they can be used to meet needs of community members. People wishing to access information from Family Resources can access their website (listed below), call 650-329-2221 and speak to a Resource Specialist, or stop by their office at 4000 Middlefield Road, Room T-2. For more information, call Sharon Murphy at 329-2280 or sharon_murphy@city.palo-alto.ca.us or visit their website at www.city.palo-alto.ca.us/familyresources.
goodparents inc. goodparents inc. helps parents of adolescents raise healthy, resilient, responsible and happy children. They provide parents with information, tools and skills to build lasting parent/child trust, communication and respect. They deliver “Personal Touch Parenting” through Personal Touch Membership, workshops, parent groups (goodparents café), support services and an educational web site. All workshops and parent groups provide interactive practice, research, role-playing, assessment tools and coaching to help you get the most out of the information presented. For more information call 650-322-KIDS or visit their web site at www.goodparentsinc.com
Palo Alto Community Child Care (“PACCC”). PACCC provides comprehensive childcare and other related services for families living or working in Palo Alto and the surrounding communities. For more information, visit their website at www.paccc.com, or call 650-493-2361.
Palo Alto Medical Foundation (PAMF). Palo Alto Medical Foundation has supported a number of PTAC Parent Education programs and projects - mainly through the involvement of its Education Division. Together PAMF and PAUSD have sponsored presentations to Palo Alto's parent community by best-selling authors like Mary Pipher, Anthony Wolfe, Michael Gurian and Alvin Rosenfeld. PAMF has assisted with numerous local programs on transition to middle school, sexual harassment, reality-based drug education, and many more. PAMF concentrates its outreach efforts to the three arenas where youth "live" - their homes (parent education), their schools (SHARE and allied projects), and their community (Youth Master plan, Teens 2000, etc.). Contact: Becky Beacom - Manager, Health Education, 853-4733 or beacomb@pamf.org.
Positive Alternatives for Youth (PAY). Positive Alternatives for Youth provides programs that improve school performance, strengthen life skills and social adjustment and decrease criminal involvement, through collaborative community efforts. PAY is a collaborative program between the PAUSD, the City of Palo Alto, the JCC, YCS, ACS, YMCA and YWCA. These organizations offer a range of after-school activities for at-risk youth, including helping to place these teens in after-school and summer jobs. For more information, contact, Bobbi Ross, PAY program manager, at 329-2192, or at bobbi_ross@city.palo-alto.ca.us.
PTA Wardrobe. Sponsored by PTA Council, the PTA Wardrobe maintains a variety of children and adult-size clothing. The clothing is available at no charge to families within PAUSD. Donations of clean, useable used and new clothing, as well as books, toys and games and new socks and underwear are welcome during the Wardrobe's open hours. The PTA Wardrobe is located in a portable at Jordan Middle School, 750 N. California Avenue. The hours are Wednesday from 2 to 5 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The PTA Wardrobe is closed on school holidays. The phone number is 856-0654.
SHARE (Student Health Awareness through Research and Education.) The mission of SHARE is to foster a collaboration of home, school, and community to ensure for our youth a sense of wholeness and well-being, and a clear understanding of the many avenues towards happiness and success. SHARE believes that there is a connection between the pressure to achieve a narrow definition of success and the growing risk to the health and well being of our youth. SHARE is a collaboration between PAUSD, PTA Council, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, ACS, private mental health practitioners and therapists. The recent “Ready, Set, Relax Night” was initiated by SHARE. Louise Singleton, an educational psychologist, is a member of SHARE and will provide information on the group, its mission and projects.
Supporting Our Sons. Supporting Our Sons is a national nonprofit membership organization committed to promoting a better understanding of boyhood and to empowering parents, educators and professionals to support the healthy development of our young sons. For more information call 1-866-687-7667 or visit the web site at www.supportingoursons.org
Youth Community Service (YCS). YCS provides community service, service-learning and leadership opportunities to East Palo Alto, Palo Alto, and Menlo Park young people.
· Community Service Clubs. YCS supports community service clubs in middle and high schools throughout the Palo Alto and Ravenswood School Districts.
· Fellows Program. High school students from East Palo Alto, East Menlo Park and Palo Alto participate in workshops and activities which develop their potential as school and community leaders
· Summer of Service. YCS and the City of Palo Alto Recreation Dept. co-sponsor an annual community service camp
For more information, call YCS at 617-8961 or click on the YCS link from the PAUSD website at www.pausd.palo-alto.ca.us/service/home.
YMCA Mid-Peninsula. The YMCA operates out of 5 branch locations located in East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Palo Alto and Redwood City. The Y offers fitness, childcare, sports, and aquatic programs and activities to more than 40,000 children, teens, adults, families and active seniors annually. For more information, see their website at www.ymcamidpen.org, or call 650-856-3955.
updated 9-15-2003