Helping At-Risk Youth

Bill Wilson Center

Bill Wilson Center (BWC) has a variety of programs designed to help kids break patterns that lead them to lives of poverty and dependence, and instead concentrate on getting back into school, into job training, into safe housing, and away from drugs. 

Some of the programs are:

• Runaway/homeless youth shelter in Santa Clara (20 beds), including educational services and counseling
• Individual and family counseling center in Santa Clara (family conflict, substance abuse, grief counseling, depression, stress)
• Drop In Center in San Jose (job readiness, housing referrals, HIV/AIDS prevention, independent living skills, with (NEW!) overnight respite available)
• Quetzal House in Mountain View (provides a stable and nurturing environment for girls (and now, also boys) who are chronic runaways from the foster care system)
• School Outreach Counseling Programs (peer training, gang involvement)
• Independent Living Skills Program / Transitional Housing Program (focuses on youth aging out of the foster care system)
• 24/7 Crisis Hotline
• Restorative Justice Program (provides support to help youth stay out of the juvenile justice system by working with the youth to help them make amends and providing them guidance so that they will make better choices in the future.)
• Foster Care Services (provides stable, caring, temporary homes for children of all ages in the social services system.)
• Adoption Program (prepares families to parent children with special needs from the child welfare system.)

Bill Wilson Center Web Site

VPC Contact:  Anita Wotiz

A note about the Adopt a Family Christmas program

Last year, Valley Pres participated in Bill Wilson Center's (BWC) popular Adopt a Family program where donors are paired with foster families to give gifts to foster children - sometimes the only gift those children will receive at Christmas.  Valley Pres responded generously, "adopting" many families, and we received feedback that this was a great way to give and to teach our youth about the joys of giving.

The Adopt a Family program is but one program within an umbrella program called Volunteer Case Aide (VCA).  VCA serves youth in the Santa Clara County foster care system, providing them with mentors, tutors and volunteers that help with a variety of needs.

In past years, VCA was fully funded by the County of Santa Clara, but earlier this year, the program was eliminated due to budget cutbacks at the County level.

Because Bill Wilson Center believes VCA is so important, they got the County to agree to allow them to fund 67% of the program, with the County passing federal funds through for the balance.

And so, we are very happy to announce that the program has been reinstated!

This leaves BWC with the challenge of raising critical funds to keep the program running.  They are seeking additional, special funding for this program.  If you would like to help keep this VPC partnership program alive by giving a special gift to BWC, please donate online directly on the Bill Wilson Center Web Site and designate the gift for "Volunteer Case Aid" (when you enter your credit card information), or send a donation to VPC and designate it "BWC/VCA" in the memo.

If you’re interested in learning more about the program, please visit the BWC website: Volunteer Case Aide Program.