People continue to amaze me. In this time of stress, worry and work-at-home/stay-at-home, our friends and neighbors are doing incredible things out of the goodness of their hearts. From raising money to sewing masks, our community – and our country – is coming together in ways we could never have predicted. For some it is a volunteer effort. For others, it is their job.
Until we are through this crisis, my column will feature those people who are giving their time, talent and treasure to help the collective “us” during this crisis. So many people have and continue to step forward to serve our community and to serve what many have called the front line heroes. From grocery store employees to our post office workers, the definition of “people on the front line” has changed.
Let’s not forget one more group. The people who are protecting our children.
I spoke with Vanessa Baronner about how her job has changed in the face of the coronavirus. Vanessa is a friend and fellow yogi. We have shared some giggles in the occasional hot yoga class. She is also the director of residential services for the Centre County Youth Service Bureau.
Founded in 1968 by Judge R. Paul Campbell and a group of volunteers, the Youth Service Bureau provides prevention programs, family services and a variety of residential options for at-risk youth in Centre County. For over 50 years, the Youth Service Bureau has been serving its mission to “…help ensure children, youth and families have every opportunity to reach their full potential.”
Those services don’t stop during a pandemic.
“Things are starting to slow down a little bit but it has been a challenge, ” said Baronner. “We are just trying to keep up with all of the government mandates. We don’t know day to day how things are going to change.”
Baronner oversees the residential services for displaced kids in Centre County – those children for whom home is not a safe option – as well as for those young people who have aged out of the foster system. Children and youth are eligible for services up to age 21.
“Our staff is really who makes this all work,” said Baronner. “They are still working with kids every day.”
The depth of the commitment by the staff at the YSB is nothing short of awe-inspiring. While all of us are experiencing uncertainty, frustration and boredom during this shut down, imagine how it feels to the children and teens who aren’t living at home. Imagine those teens who are living within group home settings. Consider what it must be like to be a young adult, taking the steps toward independence, in one of the apartments supported by the staff at the Youth Service Bureau.
Imagine the challenges for the staff whose mission is to help kids in need.
“The girls in our group home haven’t left the house in a month and a half,” said Baronner. “Staff are, of course, in and out every day. Staff continue to be very hands on. It’s just tough.”
The young people living in the apartments, some of them still attending high school, are also facing challenges. Several have been laid off from their jobs. Others are the faces we see in fast food or other service industries. Some are trying to balance remote learning without the support of family or a larger network.
“We are staying as hands-on as we can,” said Baronner. “We are still helping them get to medical appointments. We are using Zoom. We are their essential contacts because they can’t count on family support.”
The group from ages 17-21 are sometimes the most unseen group; they often aren’t prepared for independence while, at the same time, the programs to support them are limited.
Not having a support system exaggerates the challenges we experience at any age.
The Youth Service Bureau refers young people who are over 21 years of age to other local programs like Out of the Cold and Centre House.
In addition to the group home and the apartment program, the Youth Service Bureau also manages the county teen centers as well as the Student Assistance Program for all of the local school districts including Bellefonte, Bald Eagle, Penns Valley, Philipsburg and State College. The Youth Service Bureau also offers a number of outreach programs that take staff into more remote areas of the county to make sure those kids have access to services too.
“Even through this time, we have one staff member at the teen centers from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. to be there for the extreme cases – where a child can’t or doesn’t want to be at home,” said Baronner. “We take turns taking calls after 4. We are already seeing an influx of kids reaching out for help. If the dynamics within a family were already there, this pressure and stress isn’t helping that.”
The Student Assistance Program accepts anonymous referrals as well as self-referrals for services. From there, a team of professionals works with the child to conduct assessments and make appropriate referrals to county programs and services.
Sadly, not all of the children in our county are like those we often see on social media — at home with Mom and Dad, doing puzzles, baking cookies and creating hip-hop videos. Not all of our children have parents who can or will help them with remote learning or with the emotional challenges that we are all facing with social distancing.
That is when the staff at the Youth Service Bureau steps in.
What does it mean to be at-risk? Baronner clarified: “It is really anyone who is having trouble at home. Kids who are displaced. Kids who can’t be at home. People have the idea that running away is a common thing. It’s not. More often it is that the child is homeless – they have either been kicked out or don’t feel safe at home. It also means the kids who have aged out of the foster system and don’t have a support network.”
When I asked Baronner how the community can help the Youth Service Bureau right now, she laughed. “We could really use Clorox wipes right now if anyone has any. The latest mandate also says our staff has to wear medical masks. Those are hard to find too.”
People who want to learn more about making donations of goods can contact the YSB at info@ccysb.com. Individuals who are interested in making a monetary donation can visit their website at https://ccysb.com/ways-to-give/#donate.
The YSB and Baronner and her staff will continue to support their clients and the growing number of referrals they are receiving despite this pandemic challenge. They are continuing to deliver food to families at-risk. They are working the front line and then going home to their own families and following the guidelines of the shutdown and of social distancing.
Who is included in the front line of this virus – people who put themselves in the line of fire to help others – seems to expand the longer we face this shut down. People doing good for others is all around us and should inspire us to do what we can to do good too, just like the staff at the Youth Service Bureau.
