Media Advisory

For immediate release: September 14, 2023
Contact: Sandra Wellhausen
(619) 507-2077
swellhausen@sdyouthservices.org

San Diego Youth Services to Expand Services at the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District

Who: San Diego Youth Services and La Mesa-Spring Valley School District

• San Diego Youth Services’ Chief Program Officer Steven H. Jellá, PsyD, will be available for interviews.

What: San Diego Youth Services’ will expand the services and support it is providing to La Mesa Spring Valley School District on five additional campuses beginning this year, doubling their contribution to the schools and community.

When: This MOU will be reviewed at the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District Board Meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 12. The board meeting starts at 6 p.m. with the closed session starting at 5 p.m.

Where: LMSV Education Center at 4750 Date Avenue, La Mesa, 91942

Why: La Mesa-Spring Valley School District has partnered with San Diego Youth Services for more than a decade to provide resources and support to students and families. La Mesa-Spring Valley School District currently has three MOUs in place with SDYS, all of which are effective through 2027:

• The SDYS HERE Now partnership provides seventh and eighth grade students a comprehensive, evidence-based suicide and bullying prevention curriculum by implementing strategies that are trauma-informed, addressing risk factors and improving protective factors among individuals and groups of high-risk youth.
• The SDYS Community Assessment Team provides behavioral health services for at-risk students and families who are referred to SDYS from district staff. Examples of services and interventions include:
  • Group counseling
  • Afterschool programs
  • Parent education and support

• The SDYS Prevention and Early Intervention partnership provides school-based services, including the following:
  • School-wide positive behavior support.
  • A research-based universal prevention strategy targeting children primarily in grades kindergarten through third grade.
  • Screening and early intervention for at-risk children at elementary schools. The purpose of the program is to build positive social behaviors in all students at the targeted schools and to provide early intervention to those students exhibiting adjustment or behavioral concerns interfering with academic achievement.

The PEI program, also known as “Dinosaur School,” has been operating at four LMSV campuses for more than six years.

About San Diego Youth Services

San Diego Youth Services is a nonprofit organization serving more than 17,000 vulnerable youth annually. SDYS has helped stabilize the lives of more than 797,000 youth living in San Diego County since its founding in 1970. SDYS is working to end homelessness, prevent delinquency and school failure, break the cycle of child abuse and neglect and promote mental health and addiction recovery.

To learn more, visit www.sdyouthservices.org

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