Seneca’s Washington programs have made huge strides towards creating a more robust continuum of services throughout the two counties served. One of our newest programs that we’d love to highlight is our partnership with The Boys & Girls Club of King County (BGCKC.) Although the programming and staff who help us deliver services is new, the partnership between Seneca and BGCKC began a few years ago. Our collaboration first began with Seneca clinicians and behavioral specialists leading social emotional groups in clubs identified as needing additional SEL support. We remained in contact with the BCGKC who shared with us their plan to roll out therapeutic and behavioral support to each of their clubs in King County. To help put their plan in perspective, the BGCKC have over 30 clubs throughout the county. They reached out to Seneca to help support their ‘mental wellness’ initiative and our more formal partnership began.
In the beginning, our collaboration included meetings with various community stakeholders and staff of the different clubs to learn directly about the needs emerging; social emotional learning, mental wellness, staff professional development, and individual therapeutic support for youth. With the support of our partners, Seneca began hiring for two full-time clinicians and an Assistant Director who would be the primary leadership for the new program. Early development and continued partnership is currently overseen by one of Washington’s Director of School Partnerships, Katrina Carleton. Katrina was determined to hire a strong and impactful team as this partnership presented as an incredibly unique opportunity for Seneca to bring Unconditional Education to a community setting.
We have since hired one full-time clinician, Erica De Los Reyes, who joined Seneca Washington from California. We love when that happens! Erica has been busy building her therapeutic caseload across a few clubs in the area. The staff who interact with Erica have reported seeing growth in the youth she works with and feel that her presence is a wonderful addition to their clubs. Seneca also was lucky enough to welcome back one of the original Seneca Washington staff, Jackie Rivera, as the Assistant Director. Jackie works alongside Katrina and Erica to help lead the partnership and programming efforts. In an effort to align Unconditional Education work in this program, Jackie has developed an Annual Implementation Plan (AIP) to support ongoing collaboration and support for the BGCKC. Feedback from BGCKC, including staff and youth, has been overwhelmingly positive and both teams look forward to the opportunities ahead. We are excited to see how Unconditional Education can look in this setting and the impact that can be had.
In the beginning, our collaboration included meetings with various community stakeholders and staff of the different clubs to learn directly about the needs emerging; social emotional learning, mental wellness, staff professional development, and individual therapeutic support for youth. With the support of our partners, Seneca began hiring for two full-time clinicians and an Assistant Director who would be the primary leadership for the new program. Early development and continued partnership is currently overseen by one of Washington’s Director of School Partnerships, Katrina Carleton. Katrina was determined to hire a strong and impactful team as this partnership presented as an incredibly unique opportunity for Seneca to bring Unconditional Education to a community setting.
We have since hired one full-time clinician, Erica De Los Reyes, who joined Seneca Washington from California. We love when that happens! Erica has been busy building her therapeutic caseload across a few clubs in the area. The staff who interact with Erica have reported seeing growth in the youth she works with and feel that her presence is a wonderful addition to their clubs. Seneca also was lucky enough to welcome back one of the original Seneca Washington staff, Jackie Rivera, as the Assistant Director. Jackie works alongside Katrina and Erica to help lead the partnership and programming efforts. In an effort to align Unconditional Education work in this program, Jackie has developed an Annual Implementation Plan (AIP) to support ongoing collaboration and support for the BGCKC. Feedback from BGCKC, including staff and youth, has been overwhelmingly positive and both teams look forward to the opportunities ahead. We are excited to see how Unconditional Education can look in this setting and the impact that can be had.
Blog Post Written By: Alex Mehling, Senior Director of WA Programs
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