As Rachel Bryant, a Black-Latina alumna of the counseling psychology graduate program at California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in San Francisco, prepared to take a state-mandated test needed to become a licensed therapist, a fellow classmate of color who’d already completed the exam told her: “Just think like a white man and you’ll pass.” A decade later, as mental health crises deepen and California’s population becomes ever-more diverse, Bryant now serves as Vice President [...more...]
Eyeglasses are such a commonality that most people go through the day assuming that everyone who needs a pair of glasses already has them. Most people, perhaps, but certainly not the team behind Vision To [...more...]
Giving List Matching Challenges
Youth Development
How can we ensure young people have healthy, promising futures? By giving them the resources, relationships, and environments that support […more…]
Sherry “Dusty” Harris was a single mother raising three daughters in a subsidized housing complex in the Western Addition of […more…]
Soccer and poetry may seem like an unusual pairing, but America SCORES Bay Area knows it’s a magical mix with […more…]
Well Being & Health
At 2 am, the phone rings at the Contra Costa Crisis Center. A 15-year-old boy, voice trembling, reaches out. He […more…]
Growing up as a gay, Black man in Oakland, George Jackson has strong ties to the community he serves. The […more…]
Bembe* – a 32-year-old father and husband – experienced severe physical and emotional violence in Guatemala because he is Maya […more…]
Getting the Message Out
Rhett Ayers Butler describes himself as a lucky child. With collected airline miles from his father’s job and a travel […more…]
Maty Thiane was a 14-year-old teenager from Senegal when she was uprooted from all she knew and loved and moved […more…]
Fostering Care
“What appeals to me so much about A Home Within is the kind of person that makes the commitment to […more…]
Sarah Gentle was 17 and in foster care when she had a meeting with her Individualized Education Plan (IEP) team. […more…]
Emergency Services
Direct Relief navigates the war zones in Ukraine to deliver cystic fibrosis medications, transports Mpox vaccines to clinics in the […more…]
How many times has a family stared in slack-jawed wonder as the adorable new family dog tears around and around […more…]
Education
“Your life won’t work out if you don’t do well in school.” “You’re a disappointment or a failure if you […more…]
Imagine a high school student in the 90th percentile or higher of their class who is enthusiastic about learning and […more…]
Although Berkeley is less than an hour’s drive from the hub of Silicon Valley, the region’s innovation and resources remain […more…]
Advocacy
Since its founding in 1978, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children (LSPC) has been at the forefront of criminal justice […more…]
Legal Services for Children deeply believes that every youth deserves to grow up feeling safe and nurtured. Unfortunately, there are […more…]
Youth Speaks alumni include an Obama speechwriter, the founder of a Black-owned media tech company, and the youngest inaugural Poet […more…]
A Helping Hand
Xochtil Larios was only 16 when she found herself behind bars and caught up in the criminal justice system. She […more…]
A mom in East Palo Alto went to jail for stealing diapers; her kids went to foster care. According to […more…]