Counseling for Youth in LA
CleanSlate Inc. | California, USA
In 2022 GO Campaign provided Clean Slate to provide essential counseling services to youth in the WATTS/South LA area. Operated within schools and community centers, the program offered 73 students a vital support system, focusing primarily on anger management and relationship building.
Initially met with skepticism, the program quickly gained recognition for its impact on students. Despite initial reservations, schools witnessed tangible improvements in students' behavior and emotional well-being. What began as a reluctant participation, often enticed by the offer of free pizza, transformed into enthusiastic engagement as students experienced the positive effects of the counseling sessions. The program focused on the methodologies of the Community Resiliency Model, a framework designed to empower individuals to navigate and overcome trauma. By leveraging this model, counselors assist youth in developing coping mechanisms and resilience strategies to address their emotional challenges effectively. Many of the youth benefiting from the program hail from households grappling with severe economic hardships. In such environments, where basic necessities like housing and food are uncertain, the ability to find moments of relaxation and alleviate stress becomes a significant challenge for these students. Counselors focused on talking students through these hardships. They were even able to provide some alternative language for school personnel when describing youth. Through the use of the alternative language, they taught personnel to understand that negative talk about the students doesn’t help them only hurts their own self talk. Some of the youth reflect that they noticed a more supportive space after these conversations.
Among the youth that experienced a positive impact because of the program was Milo. Milo attended the counseling groups and was able to talk about his anger and how he often lashed out. Clean Slate was able to provide tools that supported Milo in pausing before he reacted to situations, he felt were disrespectful. Milo was able to move from reactiveness to responsiveness and the school and his family noticed.