Episcopal Community Services Awarded $50,000 Prebys Foundation Grant for Youth Behavioral & Mental Health Initiatives

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Episcopal Community Services Awarded $50,000 Prebys Foundation Grant
for Youth Behavioral & Mental Health Initiatives

San Diego, CA – Jan. 9, 2024 – Episcopal Community Services (ECS), an award-winning nonprofit organization committed to breaking barriers and transforming communities, proudly announces the receipt of a significant $50,000 grant from the Prebys Foundation. This generous contribution, earmarked for initiatives under ECS's Para Las Familias (PLF) program, represents a vote of confidence in the effectiveness and impact of ECS's work in the field of youth behavioral and mental health services.

ECS PLF will continue to change lives with the Presbys Foundation’s generous grant. January 2024.

The Prebys Foundation, a leading philanthropic organization in San Diego County, has recently allocated $30.6 million in grants across 147 organizations, demonstrating its dedication to visual and performing arts, medical research, healthcare, and youth success and financial stability. The substantial grant awarded to ECS aligns with the Foundation's focused efforts and underlines the critical role of mental health in fostering the development and well-being of young people within the community.

“This investment from The Prebys Foundation enables ECS to meet the growing demand for behavioral and mental health support for young children in our community,” said ECS CEO Elizabeth Fitzsimons. “ECS is grateful to the Foundation for recognizing this need and ECS’ role in delivering critical care to children and their caregivers.”

ECS Para Las Familias

Para Las Familias, a dedicated outpatient clinic, offers bilingual behavioral and mental health services to children in the under-resourced communities of the South Bay area. Focusing on the developmental needs of low-income children from birth to 12 years old, PLF plays a crucial role in their wellbeing. The recent grant stands to greatly enhance PLF's ability to extend its services and improve care quality, making a substantial impact on the lives of numerous children within these communities.

About Episcopal Community Services

ECS provides $38 million in comprehensive health and human services across the San Diego region. Through a range of wraparound programs encompassing early childhood education, mental and behavioral health, substance use disorder treatment, and homelessness services, ECS tailors its approach to meet each client’s unique needs. Annually supporting over 7,000 individuals, the organization leverages deep professional expertise and lived experiences to assist clients in realizing their full potential. To learn more about ECS’s transformative impact, please visit https://www.ecscalifornia.org/.

About Prebys Foundation

The Prebys Foundation is the largest independent private foundation in San Diego County, working tirelessly to create an inclusive, equitable, and dynamic future for all San Diegans. In 2023 alone, the foundation awarded 214 grants totaling over $57 Million across various sectors. Visit www.prebysfdn.org/ to learn more.

Media Contact:
Adrienne Wilkerson
ECS Communications Director
awilkerson@ecscalifornia.org. ###

Para Las Familias Food Drive

SAN DIEGO – As we approach Thanksgiving, our hearts are filled with gratitude for the remarkable support received for Para Las Familias' (PLF) Autumn Food Drive.

PLF provides outpatient behavioral and mental health services to underserved South Bay communities. Thanks to your contributions, we are building a stronger, healthier community.

Together, we are making a difference!

PLF staff pick up food drive donations from ECS Headquarters in National City. November 2023.

PLF staff show off food donations to support ECS families during the holidays. November 2023.

Forming a Foundation of Trust

Antonio and Alexander play and learn during a therapy session at PLF. August 2023.

SAN DIEGO – Parenting is simultaneously one of life’s greatest gifts and one of the most terrifying tasks that can be bestowed upon someone. Raising a child is complicated and can be scary, especially when you’re doing it alone. Alexander, a 64-year-old single father, has been raising his 5-year-old son Antonio on his own since Antonio was just a few days old. Their situation has not always been easy, but they have found incredible support in Para Las Familias (PLF).

After working with their therapist and attending classes the father and son have formed a bond of trust. August 2023.

Alexander and his son have attended therapy and classes at PLF for about a year, and their therapist, Melissa Donate, spoke on the inspiring improvements they have made. When she met Alexander and Antonio, both had difficulty expressing their emotions and communicating. Alexander was closed off emotionally — what one may think of as a very stereotypical man — and Antonio had tantrums and behavioral issues, which Alexander did not know how to handle. Thankfully, a doctor directed them to PLF.

The positive impact PLF has had on them is clear; Alexander smiled wide while sharing that in the 12 months he and his son have been at PLF, “I don’t regret it one minute.”

The father and son have formed a trusting and communicative relationship through their family therapy sessions and Alexander’s parenting classes at PLF. And Alexander never misses an opportunity to further their progress. “We’re coming back tonight,” he said, sitting in a PLF therapy office at that very moment.

PLF works to create security between parent and child, a crucial factor in development. “Our program focuses a lot on attachment,” Donate explained. “How you grow up, if you grow up to be anxious, it has to do with attachment. With families, parents, and children, the most important thing they forget to focus on is the relationship. That’s one of the main things we work on here.” Alexander and his son show the powerful change the focus on relationships can bring.

Alexander also expressed how much the parenting classes and the presence of other parents have helped him as a single father. Entering the parenting course, Alexander realized, “I’m not the only one out there… especially seeing the single moms… and what they have to go through. I’m not alone.” The parents at PLF have formed a support system among each other, encouraging one another to come to class and continue learning together.

Together, the parents at PLF have learned how to communicate and understand their children. “We thought they were just acting out, but no, they’re not acting out; it’s their way of communicating to us,” Alexander explained. “We learn to understand when they’re crying, why they’re crying. They’re not crying just to be bratty,” he laughed. “They’re crying because something is really bothering them, or something is not right. They want that security, to be hugged and told it’s okay.”

Since starting therapy and classes at PLF, Alexander’s mindset as a parent has blossomed. He spoke earnestly, explaining how he’s learned to understand his son. Alexander explained that when his son gets upset, “he’s not doing it intentionally. They’re children. I learned to have more patience with him. More understanding.” Now, when Antonio makes a mess or a simple mistake, his father tells him, “It’s okay… we can clean it up together.”

Alexander pridefully shared that Antonio has just started kindergarten and is making many friends. Not only is he excelling in the classroom, but he also openly displays love and trust toward his father, which made Alexander beam just talking about it. “My son has had an advantage that other kids haven’t had,” Alexander stated. And to Alexander, that advantage could mean a world of difference for Antonio’s future. “You never know; he could be the president. He could be the mayor,” he said. “Just from this program, the things he learned, the opportunity he had to come here… my son is getting the best.”

Parenting is rewarding but hard. And there is no instruction manual on how to do it perfectly. But Para Las Familias gives caregivers like Alexander the support they need to do their best. “The parenting tools now that I have in place, and the therapy I have in place have made a world of difference in my life,” stated Alexander. For more information, visit Para Las Familias — Episcopal Community Services (ecscalifornia.org).

PLF Receives Award and Grant from St. Germaine Children's Charity

(From left to right) Janice Farrow, St. Germaine Children’s Charity President-Elect; Elizabeth Fitzsimons, ECS CEO; Katie Christensen, St. Germaine Children’s Charity President; and Timothy Whipple, Development Director, beam with the Barbara Christensen Heart of San Diego Award in hand. June 2023.

SAN DIEGO — June 13 marked a memorable day for ECS’ Para Las Familias (PLF) program, as its noble mission and devoted efforts were celebrated and acknowledged at the St. Germaine Children’s Charity Luncheon. The PLF program was honored with the Barbara Christensen Heart of San Diego Award and a $5,000 grant.

Moreover, ECS’ CEO, Elizabeth Fitzsimons, delivered an impressive keynote address at the event. She emphasized the crucial need for comprehensive behavioral and mental health services, exemplified by programs like PLF within our community.

PLF is unwavering in its goal to disrupt generational trauma and abuse cycles that besiege numerous families, particularly those within underserved communities. Through a wide range of services - including individual and group therapy, parenting support groups, screenings, and others - the clinic works tirelessly to build healthy parent-child relationships, fostering healing from past traumas and paving the way for a brighter future.

ECS extends appreciation for this recognition from St. Germain’s. This grant empowers PLF to continue its essential work in the San Diego community.