Youth & Family Services

Youth and Family Services (YFS) is a program of Neighborhood House, Inc.

YFS is committed to building a stronger community. We work with youth, their families, the schools, and community groups to provide support and encouragement as people make positive changes in their lives because:

Strong Families = Better Communities

Services:

YFS offers a variety of services for youth and families (please click on the services that you are interested in):

Information & Referral
SUN Community Schools (Schools Uniting Neighborhoods)
Mentorship Programs
Youth Career Exploration Project and Case Management
Recreation/Summer Camp

Getting Involved:

Throughout the year YFS hosts several Community Events.

Our programs are funded by Multnomah County, United Way, City of Portland and private grants.

There are many opportunities to be a part of YFS. Your positive input and energies are always cherished and welcomed! Below are some YFS opportunities...

Volunteer Participation - Tutoring & Mentoring
Donations

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SUN Community School

Neighborhood House is the lead agency for three SUN Schools on the west side of Portland:

Robert Gray Middle School
Jackson Middle School (funded by the Children's Investment Fund - City of Portland)
Markham Elementary

At SUN Schools, we coordinate and provide educational, recreational and social services, creating full-service community centers that help youth and families succeed.

We offer:

• Homework help, tutoring, academic classes, art, sports, music and other activities.
• Mentoring
• Safe, supportive places before and after school
• Educational classes for adults (parent education)
• Cultural and community events
• Access to social services/basic needs such as food boxes, energy assistance, counseling, etc.

We also offer two summer camps at both Markham and Robert Gray!

For more information, contact:

Linda White, Robert Gray SUN School Coordinator - (503) 452-3765 or lwhite@nhweb.org
Emily Neve, Markham SUN School Coordinator- (503) 544-6433 or eneve@nhweb.org
John Mashek, Jackson SUN School Coordinator - (503) 544-6009 or jmashek@nhweb.org

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Mentorship Program

Our overall purpose is to assist young people in reaching their full potential through one-to-one relationships with positive role models. To this end, we offer three different mentoring program options:

West Side Connections is a community-based mentoring program serving young people ages 7 through 14 who attend selected schools in SW Portland. Youth are individually matched with carefully screened adult volunteers, usually of the same gender. Volunteer mentors get together with their matched young person for at least 8 to 12 hours per month for a minimum of one year. The volunteer shares low or no cost activities with the youth while offering friendship, support and guidance. The program coordinator supervises and supports each mentoring relationship, maintaining regular contact with the mentor and the youth's family.

Lunch Buddies matches elementary aged students, one-to-one, with caring volunteers (16 years of age and older) for weekly visits during the child's lunch and recess period at school. The volunteer talks, listens and shares activities with the student on the playground, in the library or in a designated classroom. The goal is to provide friendship, support and encouragement toward enhancing the child's self-esteem, social skills and overall school performance.

Web-Mentors is an innovative approach to mentoring which pairs carefully screened adult volunteers from our community with students attending local elementary and middle schools in grades 5 to 8. Mentoring partners communitcate primarily via email and also meet face-to-face four to six times during the school year for group activities. Student emailing is supervised by program staff and is supplemented with instruction in Web etiquette and effective on-line communitcation. All emails are screened for appropriate content before they reach their destination. This program offers an appealing option for busy volunteers who are unable to commit to a traditional mentoring model and for students with an affinity for computers.

For more information about these programs, or to receive an application packet, please contact John Grueschow, Mentoring Program Coordinator at 503-244-2292 or jgrueschow@nhweb.org.

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Youth Career Exploration Project and Case Management

The Youth Career Exploration Project is a program for middle school students from immigrant families residing in southwest Portland and attending Robert Gray or Jackson Middle Schools. The program is aimed at helping students: 1) discover career options, 2) focus their interests and establish realistic goals, and 3) begin drawing connections between school and employment success. The Career Explorations Project includes career discovery activities that will increase student's real-life understanding of the job world, Career Day events at the middle schools, and work site and university tours for the youth. The Career Exploration Project also provides intensive case management services to students and their families to increase academic performance, attendance and family involvement.

If you are interested in hosting a group of students at your work site, or would like more program information, please contact Cassie Sorensen, Youth Advocate/Career Explorations Coordinator at 503-781-7890, or csorensen@nhweb.org.


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