About Us

Youth and Family Services (YFS)

YMCA Youth and Family Services (YFS) is the social service department of the YMCA of San Diego County, which offers a wide variety of programs and services that reach over 40,000 children, youth, and families each year throughout the county of San Diego.

History

YMCA Youth and Family Services has over 38 years of experience working with youth and their families. Established in 1970 with the opening of the Oz San Diego shelter for runaway  and homeless youth, YMCA Youth and Family Services currently provides 16 vital community programs with an operating budget over $8 million.

The YMCA of San Diego County is the oldest and largest organization in San Diego dedicated to serving youth. Throughout its history, the YMCA has been the leader in youth development, implementing a wide variety of programs designed to improve the quality of life, promote the development of leadership skills, and provide volunteer and community service opportunities.

Programs

• Community Based Services
• Residential Services
• Counseling Services
• School Outreach Services

Community Based Services

YMCA Youth and Family Services works with numerous organizations to prevent teenage pregnancy, substance abuse, and gang involvement.

Residential Services

YMCA Shelter Programs consists of Oz San Diego and Oz North Coast which provide temporary shelter and counseling for runaway, homeless, and troubled youth, ages 12-17. Each shelter provides a temporary home-like residence for over 300 teens in crisis and counseling for nearly 600 family members annually. Street outreach and education programs serve an additional 400 teens and provide 24-hour crisis counseling, with 3,600+ intervention calls annually.

Oz San Diego in Clairemont was established in 1970. This site predominantly serves central, eastern and southern San Diego County. Oz North Coast in Oceanside was established in 1975. This site predominantly serves both inland and coastal north San Diego County.  The Transitional Living Program offers low-income housing for emancipated foster youth.

School Outreach Services

YMCA School Outreach Services began in 1989 with four after school program sites formally known as YMCA PRYDE. Each year the PRYDE Program expanded the number of sites and the number of youth participating in the program. Currently there are 28 sites serving over 4,000 youth. With this growth has come dramatic restructuring to include County of San Diego’s Critical Hours; City of San Diego Prime Time; State Department of Education’s After-School Education and Safety Programs, all of which are managed under the umbrella of School Outreach Services.

YMCA Youth and Family Services School Outreach Services Program provides students with a safe place to participate in academic support and enrichment activities during the hours when many parents are at work. The program provides:

• A safe place where children can have fun and learn new skills in a supervised setting.
• Academic support, including 60-90 minutes of academic instruction, homework assistance and/or tutoring.
• Enrichment activities such as crafts, music, theater, cooking and sports.
• Activities to develop leadership and social skills.

The program is available every regular school day after school until at least 6:00 p.m. Before school programs may be offered every day for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.