A December to Remember

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In December 2022, more than 100 foster youth in CII’s Individualized Transition Skills Program (ITSP) celebrated the holidays with friends, mentors and chosen family at our Otis Booth campus in Echo Park. Guests enjoyed a holiday meal, music, plenty of games, prizes and photo ops.

This was the first time in over three years that CII’s foster youth program was able to celebrate the holidays in person due to the COVID-19 pandemic and financial limitations. This celebration truly would not have been possible without the generous support of our donors and greater LA community partners. A special shoutout to DJ Lani Love for providing the tunes, Donny Joubert BBQ and Desserts by Donisha for the delicious food, and to sisters, Alex and Tiffany Tuttle, for ensuring that every youth went home with a gift.

CII’s ITSP supports transition aged (16-21) foster youth in preparing for a fulfilling adult life outside the foster system by providing mentorship, life skills classes, and educational supports that work towards high school and college graduation.

We still need your help to ensure that youth have the resources they need to achieve educational success and emotional wellbeing, which build pathways to economic mobility. Please consider making a gift to Children’s Institute and make the future brighter for youth across our city.

 

CII’s Home Visitation Program Changed My Son’s Life

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My name is Shirlys, and my son received life-changing services at Children’s Institute.

When I was seven months pregnant, I was visiting a friend while a CII staff member was there, and I loved the way she interacted with her two-year old daughter. I wanted that for my son, Sebastián. So, she put me in touch with Wendy from CII’s Home Visitation program.

Our team of home visitors were there for us every step of the way. They taught us what developmental milestones Sebastián needed to reach at six months, ten months and beyond. Everyone told us that it was normal for him to not be speaking at his age, that “boys just talk later than girls,” but not CII.

If it weren’t for our home visitors—Wendy, Mayra and Stephanie—Sebastián wouldn’t have been diagnosed with autism this early and he wouldn’t be receiving the help he is now, including language skills, paired with occupational and behavioral therapy. One of the most important things CII’s program has done is helping our son with his speech, giving him the confidence to use his voice.

Our greatest hope as parents is that this early diagnosis, and the support he is receiving, leads to an understanding of his condition and the ability to adjust to society so he can lead a fulfilling life, not limited by his condition. We want what every parent wants: a healthy child with everything they need to reach their abundant potential—educational achievement and being able to participate in activities like sports and the arts.

I am eternally grateful to Children’s Institute for giving us the opportunity to help improve the quality of our son’s life.

Please consider making a gift to CII this holiday season so that more children across Los Angeles can have the same opportunities and success as Sebastián.