EDGEWOOD SAN BRUNO YOUTH DROP-IN CENTER RE-OPENS JUNE 16
For Immediate Release
June 7, 2010
Open House
Wednesday, June 16 from noon to 3 pm
931 San Bruno Avenue
May 26, 2010, San Francisco, CA: On Wednesday, June 16 from noon to 3 pm, Edgewood Center for Children and Families officially re-opens its San Bruno Youth Drop-In Center. Providing essential services to an underserved population, the Drop-In Center is a voluntary, peer-driven program that provides interpersonal, educational, vocational and recreational opportunities for San Mateo County youth ages 15-25 to expand the skills necessary for a successful transition into adulthood. The Open House will provide an overview of Drop-In Center services, tours of the facilities, fun activities, remarks by Edgewood CEO Nancy Rubin at 12.30 pm, and a Youth Advisory Council panel discussing the benefits of the Center. Light refreshments will be served. For more information on the San Bruno Drop-In Center Open House and their services, please call 415.375.7626. For press inquiries, please call 415.375.7625 or email micheled@edgewood.org.
About the Edgewood San Bruno Youth Drop-In Center
Now in its third year, the Edgewood San Bruno Youth Drop-in Center provides recreational, vocational, and educational activities focused on expanding social and life skills to help prepare underserved youth to function independently and contribute back to the community. Offerings at the new and improved Center include cooking classes, art activities, support groups for men, women and theLGBT community. The first of its kind in San Mateo County, the Edgewood San Bruno Drop-In Center serves as the model for transitional youth-based services throughout the region.
CEO of Edgewood Center Nancy Rubin, says, "The San Bruno Drop-In Center provides a safe place for marginalized youth who do not have many resources to call their own. The youth dictate the activities offered and can receive much needed support as they prepare for independent living."
Open to all youth in San Mateo County ages 15 through 25 years old, the Drop-In Center eases the transition to adulthood and focuses on a population that usually receives little support from social services although they are greatly in need. Youth benefiting from social services are often no longer eligible for programs once they turn 18 years old. Many of these youth leave the foster care system without family or a support network. They enter the adult world without money, jobs and a home. 25 percent will serve prison time within two years. Expanding services to this population provides a safety net needed for these disadvantaged youth to build the independent living skills necessary to succeed in the adult world.
In summer 2009 a fire destroyed the original center located at 841 San Bruno Avenue. Edgewood transferred the Drop-In Center services to its San Carlos campus and provided shuttle transportation to San Mateo County youth to the temporary location. The new Drop-In Center located at 931 San Bruno Avenue, Ste. #1 includes an additional 1000 square feet over the former Drop-In Center which is devoted to an expanded kitchen for cooking classes which teach an essential life skill.
"We would like to thank the Behavioral Health and Recovery Services and all those in the community who responded after the fire with a donation to help us rebuild," says Falope Fatunmise, Regional Director for San Mateo County programs. "In an era of dwindling resources, the community's generous response demonstrates the value placed on the services we offer and the recognition of the benefit that this investment provides our greater society."
The San Bruno Drop-In Center is located at 931 San Bruno Avenue West, Suite 100. Open Mondays through Fridays to youth ages 14 through 17 years old from 1:30-5:30 pm, and to youth ages 17 through 25 years from 4:00-8:00 pm. The Center welcomes youth ages 15 through 25 years old on Saturdays from 11:30-3:30 p.m. For more information on the San Bruno Drop-In Center and its services, please contact 415.375.7626. For press inquiries, please call 415.375.7625.
About Edgewood
Celebrating its 160th anniversary in 2011, Edgewood Center for Children and Families (Edgewood) helps children and families take back their future by working with them to overcome severe challenges like abuse, neglect, mental illness and crisis. The oldest children's charity in the western U.S., Edgewood has evolved to meet the community’s changing needs. What began as a refuge for Gold Rush orphans is now a nationally recognized, multifaceted agency. Edgewood serves more than 5,000 children and families in the Bay Area each year through behavioral health, family support, and educational services. Edgewood: transforming lives, restoring hope.
Media Contact
Michele Dilworth
Communications Director
415.375.7625
