What effect has COVID-19 had on Wayfinder’s children, youth and adults? Wayfinder’s clients are among those hardest hit by the COVID-19 public health and economic crises because they are the most vulnerable and fall into at least one risk group: Low-wage earners: 90% of our clients live in low-income ZIP codes. Children, youth and adults…
A simple song and a little star produced a tremendous breakthrough for Harper, a two-and a half-year-old girl in Wayfinder’s Blind Babies Foundation program. When Harper was a few months old, her parents, Kellie and Jason, began to see clues that something was wrong with their baby. She wasn’t following objects with her eyes or…
I don’t want to see my grandchildren on the news,” Monica wrote to the director of social services. She knew her young grandsons were in danger because their mother, Eva*, had a mental illness, which was later diagnosed as schizophrenia. Monica needed to get them help. Eva’s trouble began three years earlier, after she gave…
Meet the assistant director of our Short-Term Residential Therapeutic Program. Greg was recently promoted from a shift supervisor in our Cottage. How do you bring Wayfinder Family Services’ mission to life? I bring the mission to life by: number one, having integrity and humility and, number two, coming to work with the understanding that no…
How is Wayfinder responding to calls for greater equity? We believe Black lives matter. Wayfinder is committed to real and lasting societal change and to being a part of the solution. The health and economic impact of the pandemic is disproportionately ravaging communities of color that suffer from generations of prejudice, poverty and racism. This…
David* suffered severe abuse, but with Wayfinder’s help and his personal strength, he is beating the odds. David’s father, Joe, hit his son with brass knuckles, pointed a gun at him and threatened to kill him. When David was 13 years old, a teacher gained his trust. She reported the abuse, and David was placed with…
Porch Drops When California instituted a stay-at-home order in response to the pandemic, Wayfinder staff knew that many of our families would struggle to secure the necessities. Our early intervention specialists and foster care workers contacted families to learn their needs. Staff prepared customized packages using items donated by our in-kind partners. We called the…
Legally blind and in foster care, Yanci has found support Even in a world that has become virtual, Yanci, age 19, found the personal connection she needed in Wayfinder’s Transition Services. Yanci is legally blind and unable to read printed material. Also, she is in the process of leaving foster care without being adopted or…
James*, age 6, was worried. He was going to lose his first tooth while staying at The Cottage, Wayfinder’s temporary shelter for children who have been removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect. James had come to The Cottage because his mother, who was struggling with drug addiction, neglected him. Concerned neighbors saw…
Wayfinder’s early intervention program provides home visits to children with vision loss or multiple disabilities. During the current COVID-19 crisis, specialists are providing virtual visits statewide via the web or through phone calls. How do you bring Wayfinder Family Services’ mission to life? You don’t work only with the child in early intervention. It is…
