Wind Youth Services |

The Passing of Sister Stephana O’Leary

Sister Stephana O'Leary One of Wind Youth Services founders, Sister Stephana O’Leary, passed away on January 5th in Encino, California. She along with Sister Mary Anne Bonpane, founded Wind Youth Services in 1994 to provide a daytime safe haven for homeless teenagers to seek refuge and receive survival services.

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/10/4175377/obituary-sister-stephana-oleary...

Christmas at the Shelter

Loriann and Charles from Emerald City Interior Landscape Design donated a beautiful Christmas tree again this year for our Shelter Youth. Miss Sandra and Jerry helped make the evening special with hot chocolate and cookies, a merry time was had by all!

Ribs n Fixins at the Center

On December 21st Dave Lucchetti, Megan Vincent and their crew came to the Center for a Rib n Fixins Holiday Feast. The hungry and appreciative diners enjoyed bbqued ribs, mashed potatoes, green beans, gravy, cranberry sauce, rolls and dessert. The Lucchetti's continued support of Wind Youth Services and its mission are greatly appreciated by all throughout the year.

Santa's in the House!

Thank you again this year to Church of the Cross for the amazing holiday meal at the Center on December 20th. Santa and Mrs Claus arrived to the delight of everyone! The scrumptious meal and delectable desserts filled everyone's stomachs and hearts with joy.

The hand knitted scarves and hats along with backpacks filled with much needed items are always in great need and enjoyed by all the youth.

This is an exciting time at Wind Youth Services

A few months ago, the merger between Wind Youth Services and Diogenes Youth Services was announced. We are now in the final stages of completing this merger that will result in additional resources and assets to help lift more young people out of crisis as the number of homeless youth continues to rise at an alarming rate.

Members of both Boards of Directors are proud of the model being created and believe it is something for other non profits in the region to consider. This is a model where two organizations sharing similar and complimentary missions strategically come together to maximize the value of their donations and provide services more efficiently and effectively. In our case, we will continue to provide services directly to the kids in need. Going forward, we will operate as Wind Youth Services while the Diogenes name and programs will be folded into Wind.

We are thrilled to bring two organizations and two boards together. We are confident and excited about our new Executive Director and we believe Wind is poised to serve even more youth in the region.

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Introduction of Sher Barber

Wind Youth Services and Diogenes Youth Services announce the appointment of Sher Barber as the new Executive Director over both organizations. Sher brings over 20 years of executive management experience to the role. Most recently Ms. Barber was the Deputy Director for Northern Valley Catholic Social Service where she led counseling programs for youth as well as Wraparound and several other social service programs. Wind Youth Services and Diogenes Youth Services announced in July their intent to merge the two organizations. We are truly pleased with the progress we have made toward this goal.

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In The Right Direction

Wind Youth Services works with youth experiencing homelessness, helping them find safety from the streets and giving them access to resources to help them move from crisis to healthy functioning and independent lives.

Wind Youth Services works with each youth to assess their circumstances, identify their needs, and set goals for positive lifestyle changes. We then provide guidance, support and education to help youth acquire the tools they need in order to transform their lives.

Mission Statement