Photo: Archive / FREDERIC J. BROWN / AFP / Getty Images
For: Cameron P. Lewis, MPA
Saturday, October 5
SHIELDS: Helping South Los Angeles Families
Every year, the demographics of Los Angeles County change. We are becoming more diverse, and we are better off for it. Because the demographics of Los Angeles County have changed, agencies serving communities must do so with an approach that is sensitive to cultural diversity.
SHIELDS for Families , incorporated in 1991 and has passed the last 30 years continuously providing extensive services in South Los Angeles. We began by offering services to mothers with substance use disorder (SUD). Then we added programs that focused on helping infants and youth, child care, child welfare, vocational assistance, and more. To this day, SHIELDS for Families offers more than 30 Community programs.
For the treatment of SUD, we offer consultation services to all people in need. It doesn’t matter if you are a teenager, a parent, or a single adult, we have a program that can meet your needs. And we are not limited to providing services for substance use problems only. When we find the need for a policy change, we advocate for changes that benefit you at the local, state, or national level. For SUD treatment for youth, we work to provide services that are more family-focused. We advocate for this change because SUD service providers must be aware of parents’ needs, including childcare, transportation, home-based services, and other services that help families get on with their lives. daily.
Our child welfare services focus on keeping families together. We offer parenting classes (including parenting education groups), group courses that educate on domestic violence, home visits in trouble, and more child welfare services that help families grow stronger and parents learn. determine what skills your children need to acquire.
Our behavioral health services span a wide range of needs. We have behavioral health professionals in each of our adult-focused programs, schools, partner agencies, and in the community, so all South Los Angeles families have the opportunity to receive behavioral health services.
Our vocational and social reintegration services not only help people to re-enter the community, but anyone who seeks our services . Participants learn new job skills, gain work experience that strengthens their resumes, and find new job opportunities to improve their lives and those of the families they support. Our housing assistance services help homeless people and prevent eviction of families and homelessness. Additionally, we connect families with resourceful organizations to help them find new homes quickly, along with financial assistance to cover the costs of new furniture, rental deposits, and more immediate expenses.
And taking into account what we offer, we understand the need for our services to be culturally sensitive. That is why we offer all of our services in English and Spanish. Since according to the United States Census Bureau, the 48. 2% of the households are Spanish-speaking, and the 48. 5% of Los Angeles County’s population is Latino.
SHIELDS focuses on public health in the South of the Angels. We believe that all residents, documented or not, deserve health coverage. This coverage must provide access to behavioral health services, services for people with substance use problems, attention to basic health problems and other public health services that will improve the health and well-being of the Latino population in our community. .
At SHIELDS for Families, we value the Latino community in South Los Angeles and are focused on helping these families thrive. In addition to understanding the unique cultural needs of South Los Angeles, many of our employees are individuals who have graduated from or completed our programs. Due to our policy of encouraging hiring of people who are already involved in SHIELDS, we have built an inclusive culture that understands the needs of South Los Angeles. We have invested 30 years in southern Los Angeles and we will continue to serve the community we are proud of.
Translated by Maythé Ruffino and Damaris Bernard
Cameron P. Lewis, MPA is a Community Relations Specialist at Shields for Families
Web: www.shieldsforfamilies.org
Email: clewis@shieldsforfamilies.org
Cell: 310. 913. 0110
Office: 323. 242. 5000 x 3228