Join us in Welcoming Project Safety Net (PSN) to the YCS family!
We are pleased to share important news about the future of two organizations that have long worked side by side: Project Safety Net (PSN) is joining Youth Community Service (YCS).
This decision follows more than a year of thoughtful discussion by both boards about how best to sustain and strengthen our shared work supporting youth wellbeing. It reflects a simple belief: young people thrive when they have a voice in shaping their lives, a sense of belonging, and a community that is organized and ready to support them.
As one organization with a combined staff and board, we are building a more cohesive and sustainable network of community collaboration. We will unite YCS’s longstanding work to enhance youth wellbeing through service learning, community connection, and leadership development and PSN’s community-led coalition focused on youth mental wellness and suicide prevention.
Building Our Shared Future
Our shared vision is a community in which young people feel safe, supported, accepted, and empowered to shape a better future. As YCS and PSN come together, young people will have more opportunities to help define the challenges, shape the solutions, and lead change in our community.
The strength of YCS and PSN has always come from community members who contribute their time, knowledge, resources, trust, and lived experience. Everyone– community, coalition partners, youth volunteers, and youth groups, will continue to have a seat at the table and a home at YCS and PSN.
Join Us at United We Rise: Together for Youth Wellbeing
Saturday, October 17, 1-3 pm
We invite you to join us on Saturday, October 17, 1-3 PM, at our special fundraiser celebrating PSN becoming part of YCS and bringing our community together around youth wellbeing. Enjoy a bottomless ice cream sundae bar, jazz music, and a panel on youth wellbeing. Early bird tickets include a uniquely designed handmade bowl from our dear friends at the South Bay Ceramic Studio.
We are grateful to everyone who has brought PSN and YCS to this moment. We look forward to building our future together.
Sally Bemus
Board Chair, Youth Community Service
Peter Stone
Former Board Chair, Project Safety Net
About Us
Overlapping Histories, One Shared Commitment
Youth Community Service (YCS) was founded in 1990 with the conviction that connecting youth with service-learning strengthens youth mental health and wellbeing. Through signature programs like Youth Connect and partnerships with schools and community organizations, youth engage in service-learning opportunities to exercise their agency, experience a sense of mattering, and improve their communities. YCS’s mission is to elevate youth voices to raise community connection and wellbeing through service.
Project Safety Net (PSN) was created in 2009 in response to youth suicides in our community. Since then, it has grown into a trusted collaboration of young people and youth-serving organizations, parents and caregivers, educators, mental health professionals, elected officials, faith leaders, and community members who mobilize on behalf of youth mental wellness and suicide prevention.
Questions?
Learn more about what is ahead by reading our Helpful Information: