December 2024 | Update 9: Youth Villages - An Unexpected Opportunity for TSC
Fingers-crossed that what I share today about our partnership with Youth Villages (YV) will be a “to be continued” story for some time to come!
The YV connection started when dear friend & TSC Board Member, Elizabeth McRae, was awarded the Vinings Citizen of the Year (COY) by our local Rotary Club. Yep, CITIZEN OF THE FRICKIN’ YEAR! (Ask her about it … she loves talking about how important she is!)
Anyway, Elizabeth was handed the COY award by Rotarian, Matt Jarrard, who is the Director of Development at Youth Villages Georgia. Well, as often seems to be the case with TSC, one conversation led to another … and a few weeks later Elizabeth & I were touring the YV Inner Harbour campus in Douglasville, GA, with Matt & his colleague, Kimmy Yon (Community Engagement Manager). We even got to participate in a drumming class with a group of amazing kids. Our time there was not only fun & enlightening, it was also sobering & thought-provoking. And the overlap with what TSC aims to do and what YV does was obvious. All of our minds were spinning with what “could be” … well, at least mine was!
Youth Villages Snapshot
Here’s just a high-level view of what YV does, as well as a few of their very impressive stats.
For over 35 years Youth Villages has provided help to children & young people across the US who face a wide range of emotional, mental and behavioral problems.
YV’s approach is based on the belief that a family does a better job of raising a child than the state. So, they provide & advocate for innovative, evidence-based, family-focused services designed to bring help & hope to children and their families, as well as proven services for young adults turning 18 in foster care.
Being in 27 states with over 100 locations, YV works directly with 10s of 1,000s of young people & their families every year … >43,000 this year alone!
The lasting change that YV has on this underserved population is evidenced by their 88% success rate!
The ways that YV serves this very deserving population of children (and their families) is nothing short of remarkable. Check out this link to learn more about what YV specifically offers at their Inner Harbour campus. I’d also recommend that you watch their overview video here or by clicking on the image below.
“The goal of treatment at Inner Harbour is to have children learn new, more positive behavior patterns that will allow them to do well in the community. The ultimate goal is to allow children to return to their families as quickly as possible, whenever possible.”
TSC & Youth Villages Partnership Opportunity
A few weeks after our initial tour of the YV Inner Harbour campus, Kimmy, Matt, and the local Rotary District Governor were touring my backyard (aka, the Mini-TSC site) … meeting our chickens & goats and checking out the garden, treehouse, and other outdoor spaces. It was there that the potential partnership opportunities between TSC and YV really started to take shape.
Fast forward another few weeks and Kimmy & I were back onsite walking through the outdoor spaces of YV’s Inner Harbour campus, many of which could use a good bit of love! We specifically focused on their community garden and associated garden kitchen area … but then our minds (and our bodies) traveled to other areas of campus.
With allll of that (!), I am in the process of developing a conceptual landscape design that will bring Inner Harbour’s community garden and other associated outdoor spaces back-to-life … and then some. So cool, right!?!
I aim to do it in a way that is in keeping with YV’s amazing & ambitious campus-wide, multi-million dollar Elevate Campaign that is transforming the campus’ interior spaces. But I also aim to do it in a way that makes the most of their beautiful 1,200 acres, with a nod to & in respect for Inner Harbour’s history of providing nature-based opportunities for the children they serve to enjoy! So TSC!
Again, so cool … right! Together, TSC & Youth Villages can make such a significant impact on these precious children. Because, as we know, there’s really no better place for healing to take place than outside in nature.
So, be on the lookout for more updates on this amazing opportunity with Youth Villages! I, for one, can’t wait to see where this partnership takes us!
New YV Inner Harbour Campus Administrative Building
New YV Inner Harbour Campus Cottage
