Assistance League Welcomes Don Graves, Contra Costa Co. ILS Director

Prior to the Assistance League® of Diablo Valley regular meeting convened on April 12, VP Community Needs Programs Christine Zepp introduced Don Graves, Project Coordinator at Contra Costa County’s Independent Living Skills Program.

His captivating account regarding the program’s inception, i.e., from “planting the seeds” to realizing its impact, i.e., “reaping the harvest,” made life-changing results for those in need. He asked the question, “What had happened to those who did NOT get adopted and, therefore, aged out of the social services system ill prepared? Their futures were bleak. A solution appeared in 1999 when a lawsuit determined that $140 million be allocated to Foster Youth. More recently and locally, in 2012, Assembly Bill 12 created California’s Extended Foster Care Program to allow eligible youth in the child welfare and probation systems to remain so until age 21, rather than at age 18.

Graves stressed that foster homes are led by caring adults who parent and mentor the resident youths. The clients do not merely survive, they achieve and excel. They succeed in high school and test themselves in college and at university, where they earn Bachelors Degrees, Masters Degrees, and Phds. and eventually serve as nurses, social workers, attorneys and political scientists.

Located in Martinez, today’s ILSP Program’s primary purpose is to identify all eligible youth between the ages of 16 through 21 to prepare them for responsible adulthood and independence. The program offers classes in cooking heathy, economic meals, setting up a bank account and managing money, computer training and other similar teaching options. The facility also includes a library, computer lab, a classroom and access to a free clothes closet, a shower stocked with hygiene products and towels and an emergency pantry.

Graves concluded his presentation by reminding those in attendance that the program also provides access to social events with the help of donated tickets to baseball games and donated ski passes. He added that everyone in attendance can help by “donating books, food, money, parking passes…whatever you have to give.” His final message: Thank you, Assistance League of Diablo Valley, for having awarded Scholarships to deserving Foster Youth over the years.

To learn about all of Assistance League’s hands-on programs, all of which are funding by its thrift shop located in Lafayette, please visit this website: assistanceleague.org/diablo-valley.