A Note From Lance E. Jones, CEO (Interim)
Hello,
My name is Lance Edward Jones (He | Him), I’m writing to you from a climate-controlled office built on the ancestral homelands of the Lummi Nation and Nooksack Tribe, and it is my privilege to serve as Chief Executive Officer (Interim) for Northwest Youth Services.
Before typing “Hello,” goosebumps told me to toss on a sweatshirt and turn up the heat; on this cold, early-autumn night, deciding to be warm is also quite the privilege.
I do not take it for granted.
Northwest Youth Services opened our doors in 1976, the same year my Mom and Dad graduated from college; 36 years later and from her bed at Johns Hopkins Hospital, my Mom composed a message — “Live your dreams with passion and purpose.”
To every young person in the State of Washington experiencing homelessness, hold my Mom’s words close and know that NWYS is fighting for you; if you’re between the ages of 13-24 and find yourself in Whatcom, Skagit, or Island Counties, visit nwys.org, email hello@nwys.org, call us at 360.734.9862, or look for our blue and yellow engagement vehicle for assistance.
To our entire NWYS community, thank you for supporting us and holding us accountable as we dismantle the systems that perpetuate youth homelessness and prevent youth autonomy.
Ending youth and young adult homelessness means creating a just & liberated world; to accomplish this, we must also see and embrace the humanity in one another.This work, our work, is a generational relay race of marathons; I’m proud to run by your side.
In service,
Lance
P.S. For the month of October, I’ll be holding office hours each Friday morning from Bellingham’s Welcome Road Winery, located at 300 W Champion St; free to stop by — I’d love to connect, share space, and chop it up! I’ll be sipping an oat milk latte 😇.
We’ve had a smooth transition back into the school year, thanks to the support of our McKinney Vento school liaisons. A recent youth who aged out of our care is now employed full-time, enjoying stable housing, and accessing additional resources.
This past month, our team expanded service reach, transporting youth in need of PAD services from areas as far as south Seattle, Monroe, and King Counties. While we remain focused on serving local at-risk youth, it’s an honor to see our impact recognized beyond Whatcom County.
Two of our bilingual staff members have stepped up to provide daily support to a Spanish-speaking youth who is thriving in the PAD program and enjoying high school life at Sehome. We’re also working hard to secure housing for another youth, who is doing everything in his power to graduate from Sehome High School this spring, before aging out of the PAD in mid-November.
Lastly, we’re preparing for an upcoming state audit, working together to ensure everything is in order. As we continue expanding the scope of our work, we appreciate the support from other NWYS pillars in achieving our goals.
We are thrilled to share that all six of our transitional living units (with a total of 11 beds) are currently full. We have been working closely with local organizations to coordinate supportive, trauma-informed move-ins to ensure that our participants feel comfortable and cared for in their new homes.
We are particularly excited for one young adult who, after months of coordination around budgeting, housing search, and communication with outside agencies, has secured her very first independent housing unit. This is a monumental achievement, and we are so proud of the hard work that led to this outcome.
The Director of Whatcom Housing attended the Housing Washington Conference in Spokane, bringing back valuable insights to help us continue expanding our housing services.
Additionally, we will be posting the job opening for a Whatcom Enrollment Services Manager in the coming weeks. Please spread the word and encourage qualified candidates to apply.
September has been a busy and productive month for NWYS Education & Employment services. We supported 17 youth with a variety of goals, including applying to JobCorps, open positions in various industries (arts, food service, healthcare, retail, and more), securing GED study guides, writing cover letters, and obtaining WA Food Worker Cards.
In the County-funded Youth Jobs paid training service, three of four participants completed their training at the Community Boating Center. One continued under tribal funding, while the other two moved on to their next community opportunities. At Make.Shift, all three trainees successfully finished their programs: one is pursuing beauty school in Seattle, one is continuing with federal jobs training, and one has moved on to new local opportunities.
These successes wouldn’t be possible without the collaboration of our dedicated community partners: Allied Arts, Community Boating Center, and Make.Shift, as well as our funders at the City of Bellingham and Whatcom County. We are grateful for your continued support!
Ground Floor has exciting news: we are building a partnership with the Whatcom Dispute Resolution Center (WDRC) to offer regular workshops on interpersonal communication and conflict resolution for youth. These workshops will be available to all youth coming to the Ground Floor for services, providing valuable life skills to navigate conflict in healthy ways.
Additionally, our Care Coordinators have enrolled three youth into Critical Transitions, helping them transition out of systems of care and back into the community. Support has ranged from securing student housing and employment to coordinating temporary stays in hotels when no other shelter options were available.
We recently hosted a site visit from the Department of Commerce, who fund the Critical Transitions program. It was inspiring to have them see our work firsthand, and we are excited to continue building out our supportive services for youth exiting care systems.
The Omni Center cohort wrapped up with a successful showcase at the Soulful Art Market. During the closing reflections, students shared how the course helped them view the world through their own lens, rather than how the world sees them—restoring a sense of presence and self in their everyday lives.
All the student projects will be displayed at The Vera Project gallery in Seattle for two weeks and will travel to the Snohomish County Executive Office from September 30 to October 4. This is a great opportunity to further showcase the creative talents of our young people.
In addition, we are thrilled to announce that Remy, one of our program participants, was named as one of the 2024 Top 7 Under 40 winners!
Moving forward, Omni Center and the Radical Intervention pillar are launching healing and empowerment circles for young people, where art and creative engagement will be used to explore and actualize liberation.
We are excited to report that six respondents successfully completed Teen Court over the summer! September is always busy for us, as we focus on outreach to new and returning student volunteers across Whatcom County, spreading the word about Restorative Justice and the transformative power of youth voice in Teen Court.
September 25th is our Fall Training event for new and returning members, and we anticipate more than 50 attendees! The training will feature our Student Advisory Board modeling a typical Teen Court night with a mock case, thanks to the mentorship of Judge Jones and Commissioner Richardson. We are ready to launch into the school year with renewed enthusiasm!
Our Queer Youth Services team has been busy! We recently participated in the Info Fair at WWU, launched our Instagram account (@queeryouthservices), and began visiting schools for this year.
In Skagit, we partnered with the Y’s drop-in space to host a Trans Fashion Treasury (TFT) pop-up, where we provided clothes and gender-affirming wear to at least 10 youth. I can look up the exact number if needed!
Community Engagement
Thanks to our partnership with Ridwell we received 30 boxes of hygiene items to distribute to all our services! Shoutout to our Community Engagement Intern, Olive for sorting through and delivering all of these donations. We couldn't do this work without you!
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