Youth Drop-in Center: Empower, Engage, Excel

Support for foster and systems-impacted youth

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

Currently, nearly 800 teens age out of foster care in South Los Angeles every three years. For victims of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and/or severe neglect, the odds are stacked against them. Imagine you are 18 and aged out of foster care with no support. You have been couch surfing to avoid homelessness, your options with friends have run out, you are unemployed, you haven’t done laundry in weeks, and you are struggling to overcome an opioid addiction. You desperately want to find stability but have no idea where to begin and no resources. Currently, you may try reaching out to your old social worker, only to find out they have been transferred to a different area or no longer work for the county anymore. You have no idea where to begin on your own. Statistics show your worst fears could play out. You could encounter homelessness, your opioid addiction could spiral, and with no job skills, you may even turn to prostitution for income.

Foster and Systems-Impacted Youth are in truly vulnerable positions. They are beginning to face very real adult obligations and challenges, many without support due to unstable family situations. At the time when they need systems of support the most, they are simply not developmentally prepared to seek them out or utilize them.
With the new Youth Drop-In Center, this all changes. A simple Google search for “free laundry services near me,” a flyer found at one of our 100 community partners, such as a homeless shelter or school, or a sponsored Instagram post will link youth directly to a low-pressure, one-stop-shop, open M-F 10:30 AM – 7:00 PM plus weekend hours. A committed team of trained staff and volunteers will help you do a load of laundry. They will then help you go through a full assessment of your needs. They will assist you with securing housing, possibly even in the Olive Crest TAY housing program. You will be referred to substance abuse treatment and begin to receive mental health care from an Olive Crest therapist. You will attend virtual or onsite classes presented by community partners on finding a job, personal care, money management, food/nutrition, cooking, education support, and sexual health. Your new Olive Crest family will wrap their arms around you. Your life will be FOREVER changed, all because of a load of laundry. This new Youth Drop-In Center has the potential to revolutionize how we connect with vulnerable youth in Southeast Los Angeles.

We currently know of only ONE drop-in center in Southeast Los Angeles equipped to serve youth who have been in the foster and child welfare system. One center to meet the needs of so many youth, teens, and young adults. Together, LA2050 and Olive Crest can change this, providing foster and systems-impacted youth the opportunity to thrive despite their prior circumstances.
Our new Youth Drop-In Center will provide a novel approach by not simply delivering services per referral in the community but also offering the full scope of Olive Crest's continuum of services in a one-stop shop. It will serve as a blueprint to be scaled to other locations to serve more youth. By year three of operating, we expect to be up to capacity and serving 500 youth annually. By increasing community partnerships by at least 10 per year, we expect a 10% increase in the number of youths impacted annually.

We anticipate that 50% of the youth served through the Youth Drop-In Center will need ongoing services. Of those youth, within the first year of receiving services: 1) 80% will display improvement in day-to-day functioning; 2) 80% will display improvement in mental health; 3) 60% will display diminished substance use or risk of use; 4) 85% will become more world-ready, (improve life and job skills, completion of high school or equivalency, and have a job).
We will employ the Child & Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (CAFAS) assessment to track outcomes. Developed by experts and widely accepted to be the gold standard in evaluating children, teens, and young adults, CAFAS evaluations apply a quantitative score to the following areas of assessment: development/day-to-day functioning, emotional and behavioral health, substance use, and mental health. The CAFAS evaluation will be conducted by case managers at intake, every 3-6 months, and at completion of services.