F O R I M M E D I A T E R E L E A S E
CASA PACIFICA CENTERS FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
A California Non-profit 501(C)(3)
Contact: Carrie Hughes
Phone: 805-366-4011
Email: chughes@casapacifica.org
Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara Awards Generous Grant to Help Children in Crisis
Camarillo, CA June 26th, 2017 – When a child is in crisis and threatening to harm himself, every minute to a parent or friend feels like an eternity. Help can’t get there soon enough. Thanks to the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara, the agony of waiting will be shortened for families in South Santa Barbara County. In May, the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara awarded Casa Pacifica Centers for Children and Families a $75,000 grant to support the addition of a full-time crisis worker to its Safe Alternatives for Treating Youth (SAFTY) program in South Santa Barbara County. The new position will enable a shorter response time for families in that region facing the frightening uncertainty of a child suffering a mental health crisis.
The Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara follows a lengthy and in depth research and thoughtful selection process for its grant awards each year that includes interviews, site visits, and online research. A Grant Reception was held in May when Casa Pacifica, along with seven other worthy organizations were presented their grant awards.
“Casa Pacifica is honored to have been chosen by the members of the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara for this generous grant award from among so many organizations providing important services to the residents of South Santa Barbara County. The work of our SAFTY mobile crisis response program is life-saving and time is of the essence. We are grateful to the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara and appreciate their recognition of these facts through their significant support in funding an additional crisis worker position,” shared CEO, Steven Elson, who accepted the grant award for Casa Pacifica.
“The Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara is a volunteer-driven organization based on a simple, creative model—women combining our charitable donations so we can make a larger impact on the community than most of us would be able to accomplish on our own. We strive to be educated, strategic givers working to make a difference in the lives of women, children and families in our community. This significant grant to Casa Pacifica’s SAFTY Program, demonstrates our commitment to support the most vulnerable in our community,” said Laurie Tumbler, Women’s Fund Steering Co-Chair.
###
About Casa Pacifica Centers for Children & Families
Casa Pacifica Centers for Children and Families is a crisis-care and residential treatment facility for abused, neglected, or at-risk children in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. The agency is the largest non-profit provider of children’s mental health services in both counties and along with its campus-based programs administers a number of community-based programs which are designed with the intent to strengthen families and keep children in their homes. For more information about Casa Pacifica or to learn about its “Building New Foundations of Hope” Capital Campaign that is underway, please visit its website www.casapacifica.org or call the Development Department at (805) 445-7800.
About the SAFTY Program
The SAFTY Program provides mobile crisis services to youth in Santa Barbara County who are experiencing a mental health crisis (often suicidal or violent) that potentially endangers themselves or others, and provides families quick and accessible specialized crisis intervention, in-home support, and linkage to county mental health services. The goals of the SAFTY program are to provide a community-based alternative to families in crisis that will prevent acute psychiatric hospitalization of youth and reduce involvement of law enforcement that could result in criminalization of mentally ill youth, along with conserving community resources. SAFTY is available to all youth up to the age of 21 who reside within the borders of Santa Barbara County.