 So today we will be discussing a place of hope and help, YOLO Crisis Nursery. With me here today is Joellen Welch, the vice president, and Mikayla Leach, the marketing director. Hi. Hi, Rachel. Hi. Thank you so much for being here today. Well, thanks for having us. Yeah, of course. So what is YOLO Crisis Nursery, and how did it get started, and when did this come about? Well, there was a social worker back in early 2000 named Laura Hynes, and she had, as a part of her job, she helped children in the foster system. And so a young man that she had been working with, or young boy since he was four, approached her one day and said, you know, what about my mom? Why hasn't anything been done to help my mom? And so you could just picture maybe a light bulb going off, and that was the seed for the start of the YOLO Crisis Nursery. So in 2001 we came into existence, and it's been through some ups and downs times in 2014 there were certain challenges that had nothing directly to do with the nursery, and so we became our own nonprofit corporation. And it's pretty exciting because that first Board of Directors, there were five. We now have 14. Oh, wow. There's a phrase that's used commonly around the board table where, at that point in time, because we were just trying to keep the lights on, we refer to it as building the plane as we're flying it. And today we feel as if we've gotten to the place where we've built that plane, and we're looking to, at ways we can serve more families and children. So what exactly do you guys do? Do you guys take, like what ages of kids do you guys take and are this happening overnight? Is it at daycare? What are exactly the programs that are in place for these children? Fill in if I forget anything. So we serve children zero to five, and their families. And the mission of the YOLO Crisis Nursery is keeping kids safe and preserving families. That is what we do. And so there are actually only four Crisis Nurseries in all of California. Pretty astounding, isn't it? There's two in Sacramento County, one in Nevada County, and ours here in YOLO County. And so you can imagine that it's a very necessary thing that we do. And so we have many programs that we offer. And I guess what I'd like to do if I could is maybe tell a story about one of the families that we've helped, and that will give you, and we can get into specifics if you want to. But one of the stories that I remember most is of a young mother who had a day's old infant and a three-year-old. And she recognized that she needed some help. And in the middle of the night, she ended up on the doorstep of YOLO Crisis Nursery. And because our team is trauma-informed, which is what makes us unique from the other Crisis Nurseries, they knew immediately that the infant was in distress and needed more help than what we could provide the infant. And so rushed the child to the hospital. And literally this baby was within hours, probably, of not being alive anymore. And it's because of this intervention, because of YOLO Crisis Nursery staff recognizing this and acting on it and knowing what to do. And so as a part of what we do, also, it doesn't stop there. So it's obvious the mom needed some help. And so, and temporary respite. And so the children were placed into the foster care while the mother received support and services to help her with her parenting skills. And because our goal is to keep that family unit together, they may have to spend some time apart. But ultimately, the goal is to have them back together, and they are. She went through all of the services that we provided, and the children were safe. And it all has a happy ending, which is what we're all about. Yeah, happy endings. I like the happy endings. It's amazing that you guys are taking it far beyond just the children. These services are for parents too, which is a spectacular one. It's about just keeping that family close knit, so everyone's together. That's the wrap around part. And for me, what I conjure up when I hear wrap around is just a big hug. And so that's what we're doing. We're hugging not just the children, but the families. That is crucial to us, absolutely. And if I can just jump in too, the critical part about these wraparound services is it's breaking the cycle. A lot of the people who we see and the families who we see, this has been a generational parenting and family issue. And the goal here is to help break the cycle where we're helping to build stronger families and stronger children, so that it's not only just bettering a family or a child's life, but it's improving our community overall. And that's supported statistically. There are studies out there about early intervention services for children specifically between zero and five, and how helping them, providing them and the family services downstream or upstream will help them downstream. And it ends up perhaps stopping that cycle. And for those people who think of it in a fiscal sense for these children and families to go without help, they continue at risk. And they're more likely than not going to be later, problems that end up being a burden to, I guess we'd say, taxpayers. And so there's this fiscal part, which isn't our concern. We're concerned about the kids. But I know that there are other people out there who pay attention to those sorts of things. Yeah, definitely. Around how many families do you guys serve, years, or like a rough estimate? Well, last year, our last fiscal year, which runs June 30th to July 1st, so we're just about to close up this year, we helped 321 families. That is almost a new family every day, which is remarkable thinking that these caseworkers and our nursery staff and team can handle so many children because there are families with multiple children in there. So just an astounding figure and such a tribute to our Executive Director Heather and her team, they do a phenomenal job. But yes, 321 families in Yolo County. And unfortunately, we're not able to get to all the children. The problem in Yolo County and California is really large. The CDC estimates that one in four children will experience abuse or neglect in their lifetime. And California has some of the highest rates in the country. And Yolo County also has high rates within the state for abuse and neglect. So the problem's real here. There's a lot of need and we're just hoping that we can continue our growth by double digits every year to try and help as many children and families as we can. And sort of piggybacking on this, it's absolutely Heather will report occasionally that they're at capacity, but that doesn't mean that she turns people away. Not on Heather's watch. Not on her watch. I'm telling you that Heather, if there's any term that applies to Heather, it will figure it out. I saw you guys also do care packages and things like that. Could you speak a little bit about that or different other services that you guys? Well we not only, we rely obviously on monetary donations in order to pay our electric bills and keep the caregivers exactly and we do have volunteers. But then we also receive donations, new and gently used clothing items for children in this age and also toys and diapers. One of our formulas. Yes. All of the above. Anything that can be used to help and we put those care packages together. Right. And a parent in need can just call and say this is what I need and you'll see them there, you know, stacked up by the door ready to go with people's names on them. It's no questions asked. There's no forms to be filled out. It is easy for the parents to get what they need to care for their children. And it's of course free of charge. That is amazing. So are the main goals for the children, do you feel like that there's a big impact when they leave that they know that they feel safer and they feel better in their homes and things like that? I know that they do. And one of the ways that I know this is actually one of our newest programs. It's called ABC. Let me get if I get this correct. I have to get my ABC, attachment and bio behavioral catch up is what it's referred to, which is sort of a fancy way of saying that children who sort of are at a higher risk for behavior and emotional problems express themselves differently. And so this with this program, our staff goes into the family home and actually works with the family and they are allowed. It's it's 10 sessions which are videotaped. And it's all about positive feedback. It is working with the parents, working with the children because as you can imagine, parents can get pretty frustrated and and it's it's challenging, especially with a child that might somehow be out of control. And they're just, you know, sort of at their wits end. But we go in and we actually work with them in their environment for 10 weeks. And and then at the end of that 10 weeks, they're given a gift. And and part of the gift is the videotape and the videotape is used with each session. They'll roll it back and and make their give the positive feedback. And then at the end, they get that tape to sleep. And and so and there is marked differences and it's because these children are feeling better and it's the parents are feeling that exactly from what we've heard are feeling better. Absolutely. And so we have that proof because people have made it through the program successfully. So yeah, we have some wonderful examples we could set you up. We don't have long enough. Yeah, yeah. I before we and I wanted to talk about your cards that you're doing for Mother's Day's Pass. But if you can talk about how people can do that and just speak a bit about the Father's Day cards, we have some here on the table. We have a visual too that they're okay that you can post. This is actual on the cover of the card. It's an actual painting that we have hanging in our preschool room at the nursery and it is from one of the students or children, which chokes me up every time I think about that. And just this sweet simple message, thank you for helping me grow. And then on the inside of the card, it says with thoughts of you, a donation has been made in your honor to the Yolo Crisis Nursery. This gift will help protect children of Yolo County and preserve their families. So a very simple message that can be used for really any purpose. It's excellent for Mother's Day or Father's Day, especially since you're thanking a parent or a parent figure to help you grow. It's also great for graduations or any sort of other celebration. Where you can note it where you're giving forward and you're kind of paying back, I guess, to those who have helped you. Because the donation that you make will be made in honor of the person that you name. So that can be done via our website, www.YoloCrisisNursery.org, slash cards. Okay, well, we have to wrap up, unfortunately. But it was great having you guys here today and learning about this beautiful organization that has grown. So thank you both for coming and be sure for everyone to check out their website. Okay, thank you. Thank you, this was in the studio.