Services
MHA Village
Antelope Valley Services
Homeless Assistance Programs
Transition Age Youth Services
Project Return Peer Support Network
Housing



…transitioning from teens to adults on track to recovery

 News to Note...

We are pleased to announce generous support from the California Community Foundation for our program.

With a two-year grant from the foundation, we will focus on enhancing the service planning, range of skills programs and peer support we offer to young adults coming to our program from the foster care system.

 

Introduction

In our services for coming-of-age young adults with mental illness – sometimes called “transition age youth” – we help them prepare for life in the mainstream community. Many of the young people we serve come from foster care, so we help bridge the gap between the service systems for children and adults to help them make a smooth transition to adult services and adult lives.

The needs of these young people are a growing concern in our community and across California. Almost 70 percent of young adults on the streets “aged out” of foster care with no support and few skills to survive on their own. This transition is even more difficult for young people who are struggling with mental illness.

Along with building a bridge between service systems, our Transition Age Youth (TAY) programs help young people build the skills to live independently. We focus on the types of skills they need – education, employment, housing – to help them move into adulthood and the community at large on a path to recovery.

Services

Our two programs, serving Long Beach and the Antelope Valley, provide a welcoming setting for young people ages 17 to 25, where they can develop support among their peers and see the mainstream community as their future.

  • Personal Service Plans
    We start by working one-to-one to help young adults decide on a direction for developing the skills they need for homes, jobs, friends and active lives in the community.

  • Mental Health Services
    We have a psychiatrist to serve each of our programs. They take time to talk with the young people and explain mental illness and medications.

  • Housing Assistance
    Many of the young adults we help come from foster care, so we help them find apartments in the community. We train them in the skills of daily life, such as shopping, cooking, cleaning and being a good neighbor.

  • Education
    Because less than half of youth with mental illness have a high school diploma, this is another priority service. In supporting their education efforts, we include an emphasis on GED programs and disabled student programs at community colleges.

  • Work Training
    We help young people get ready for the work world and find employment; for many, at their first jobs.

  • Skills and Support Groups
    We focus on areas such as communication, hygiene and conflict resolution.

  • Money Management
    We coach young people in how to take care of their finances so they can manage on their own. We help them learn how to develop a budget, open a bank account, shop and pay their bills on time.

Funders

Our Transition Age Youth Programs are funded through service contracts with the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health. We are grateful for the support of The California Wellness Foundation, Josephine Gumbiner Foundation, Boeing Company and our donors that help enhance our services.

Contact

Our Antelope Valley TAY program, which opened in 1995, is located at 43423 Division Street, Suite 107, in Lancaster, California 93535. Its phone number is 661-726-2850.

In Long Beach, our TAY program is located at 2025 Seventh St., Long Beach, California 90804. The phone number is 562-284-0108.



Mental Health America of Los Angeles   Administration Offices
100 W.Broadway, Suite 5010   Long Beach, CA 90802-2310
888-242-2522, ext. 225    development@mhala.org

Home
| Meet MHA | Services | Education | Advocacy | Training | Help MHA | Privacy | Site Map

Copyright 2003-08 © by Mental Health America of Los Angeles, All Rights Reserved

Web Site by Regency Web Services, Inc.