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Services Provided
<br />Stand Up for Kids Orange County (SUFI( OC) serves the neediest youth in OC, under age 25, including out-of-
<br />school youth, high school dropouts, runaways, homeless, youth in foster care, justice involved youth,
<br />children of incarcerated parents and migrant youth. We provide comprehensive care that ensures each
<br />youth remains stably housed and develops the skills and confidence to live independently. SUFI< OC
<br />provides 4 primary services: 1) Street Outreach, 2) Housing Support, 3) Mentoring, and 4) Youth Centers.
<br />SUFK OC programs cover all 14 WIOA service elements. We look forward to joining the Santa Ana Youth
<br />Service Providers Network to address the needs of vulnerable youth in the community.
<br />Street Outreach: The SUFI< OC Street Outreach program targets homeless and at-risk youth, ages 16-24,
<br />through weekly street outreach and through local referral partners including law enforcement, schools,
<br />youth organizations, hotlines, plus healthcare, foster care, and social service agencies (e.g., SA Youth
<br />Service Navigator). 5 days a week, we comb underserved neighborhoods across OC, where homeless youth
<br />hang out. We provide water, food, clothing, hygiene products and safety information. 70% of the youth we
<br />meet make contact with SUFK OC, and of those, 85% engage in our mentoring program to get off of the
<br />street. In 2024, SUFK OC received 977 calls to our crisis hotline from street youth and referrals. We conduct
<br />a thorough screening over the phone to determine eligibility for our services and immediate needs. A
<br />referral may be made, such as medical treatment, supportive housing, a behavioral health program, or
<br />another assistance program for adults over age 24. In these cases we conduct a soft hand off with another
<br />service provider. SUFK OC established Street Outreach services over 20 years ago, in 2003, and we now
<br />serve the following communities: Aliso Viejo, Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington
<br />Beach, Irvine, Laguna Niguel, Mission Viejo, Santa Ana, and San Juan Capistrano.
<br />Youth considered for intake to the SA WOIA program will be screened for specific qualifications including,
<br />resident of Santa Ana, age 16-24, authorized to work in the U.S., Compliance with Selective Service Act
<br />(males 18+), and Out-of-School (as defined by WOIA).
<br />Housing Support: SUFK OC prioritizes "housing first" to ensure the safety of homeless and at-risk youth.
<br />Our housing navigators help youth identify temporary, transitional, and permanent housing. We ensure
<br />each client establishes their personal housing goals and then we help them to identify and eliminate
<br />roadblocks to gaining permanent housing, including proper identification, immigration status, credit repair,
<br />and other legal roadblocks. We provide clients assistance with accessing housing resources, including
<br />Vouchers, VASH, HOME, and others. Through our many housing partnerships, we are able to quickly
<br />connect our clients to both temporary and permanent housing. Our rapid re-housing program is proven to
<br />be successful across many OC communities including Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Garden Grove, Irvine and Santa
<br />Ana. Mentored youth may receive rental assistance including tapered support up to 6 months after
<br />program graduation.
<br />Mentoring: When a youth agrees to mentoring, they go through a thorough intake process. At intake, we
<br />address immediate needs for safety, food, clothing, healthcare, mental health and housing, leveraging our
<br />many community partners. During intake, we identify those who are most at risk or who are currently
<br />victims of sexual trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, labor trafficking, and other
<br />forms of victimization and abuse. The Case Manager meets with the youth where demographic data are
<br />collected and youth are assessed for vulnerability and risk factors using the TAY Vulnerability Index -Service
<br />Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool (VI-SP DAT) (Balagot et al., 2019), a nationally-recognized instrument
<br />that collects information on functioning, vulnerability, current and past trauma, and any co-morbidity
<br />issues. Additionally, the Adolescent Coping Scale (Frydenberg & Lewis, 1998) is used to evaluate their
<br />ability to use productive coping strategies. The Case Manager confirms their program eligibility using
<br />defined criteria for SUFK OC programs such as age restrictions plus the Santa Ana YSP and WIOA contract
<br />requirements. SUFK OC uses a HUD-approved intake form to capture all relevant information, then based
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<br />EXHIBIT 3
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<br />City Council 10 – 325 7/1/2025
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