Coronavirus Update

 

March 23, 2020

 

Dear CYS Community,

 

We send you our best wishes during this unprecedented experience we are in together.

 

In an effort to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 virus, CYS has transitioned to remote operations with staff working safely from home as of 3/17/20 . Our physical offices will be closed until at least April 19.

 

CYS will continue to accept referrals and provide safe and meaningful services for our clients and their families. To protect confidentiality, our team uses HIPPA compliant software solutions for video conferencing, cloud storage, and secure file transfers.

 

While we are continuing our diversion and youth development programs and services via Zoom, we are

also reaching out to provide families with health and safety updates from LA County Department of Public Health. Additionally, we are helping families to meet immediate basic needs. Thanks to our committed board members, generous donors and volunteers, and with new "contactless drops", we are distributing grocery gift cards, cellphones and laptops to ensure disconnected families remain receive necessary resources. Other priorities include connecting our families to local resources for free food, health screenings, WiFi, and more. 

 

We are partnering with the Centinela Valley Union High School District’s Student Wellness Center to transition our therapeutic trauma support groups to online delivery and develop additional student and family programming online. These programs will then be quickly rolled out to all our service areas. 

 

I am very proud of our staff and volunteers, who have adapted so quickly to our new priorities. As the situation evolves, we will continue to adjust our programming to meet changing priorities. 

 

We look forward to serving our community without interruption throughout these challenging times. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

 

You can continue to reach us on our main line: 310-970-7702.

 

And, please continue to refer families in need via email: [email protected] 

 

We send our best wishes to you and your loved ones during this trying time. We take comfort in the acts of compassion and solidarity we have seen in these past few weeks and believe we will get through this by taking good care of each other!

 

With gratitude and warm regards,

 

Jessica J. Ellis

Executive Director

Centinela Youth Services