Who We Serve » Wind Youth Services

For volunteer opportunities, click here.

Wind Youth Services is a Sacramento area nonprofit established in 1994 by the Sisters of Social Service, to work with homeless and street youth who were not being served by any other organization.  Initially, the focus was on providing outreach and survival services such as food, clothing, sleeping bags and hygiene articles.  This was a valuable service to the youth, but it really did nothing to solve the more systemic problemsthat contributed to being homeless or living on the street.

The focus of Wind today is to assist youth to get off the streets and out of homelessness.  Nothing good happens on the streets, and Wind provides a safety net for youth and an alternative to the dangerous and downward spiral that life on the streets presents.   All of our programs are directed to the goal of assistingthem to choose healthier lifestyles and obtain the skills necessary to make change happen in their young lives. 

Wind Day Center: The Center is the heart of Wind Youth Services.  We provide over 12,000 meals a year and offer showers, laundry services, hygiene essentials, clean clothes, food boxes, water and other supplies.  With their Youth Advocate, each youth completes an intake assessment which identifies their needs, and why they are homeless.  From this initial plan, they will develop an individualized case plan that can incorporate various services/support/ referrals. We offer assistance with life skills, employment, academics, drug and alcohol issues, housing referrals and/or shelter and on site referrals. We provide clinical and family support as well as medical advocacy. Wind currently has over 200 kids who are actively working with the Youth Advocates. 

Outreach Services: The Outreach program is the gateway into Wind Youth Services.  Outreach Advocates work with the schools, community-based organizations, and health programs to connect with at-risk and street youth.  The Outreach Advocates connect with an average of 80 to 100 kids monthly who are living on the street.  Approximately, about one quarter of the youth encountered on the street each month will come to the center for additional services and assistance.  Sometimes it takes several contacts with a youth before they visit the Center.  Most of the youth face serious trust and abandonment issues as well as multiple other stressors including alcohol, drugs, prostitution, mental illness and health issues. 

Wind Learning Center: In order to meet the educational needs of the population we serve, Wind and the Twin Rivers Unified School District’s Community Collaborative Charter School started an on-site classroom to offer school to Wind kids.  The school is fully accredited, adheres to all District and State standards, and is taught by a credentialed teacher.  It is similar to an old-fashioned one room school house, with students of different ages and educational levels learning together under one roof.  While students can graduate with a high school diploma,the focus is to get them back on track, catch up on credits and successfully transfer them back to their public school.  Last year we had over 75 students go through the Wind school program.  Some for just a few weeks, others for over a year.  

The Wind Shelter: The shelter was developed to respond to crisis situations and to meet the immediate needs of getting homeless youth into a safe living situation.  In 2000, Wind opened a small six bed shelter in Carmichael.  The need far exceeded the originalnumber of beds and in 2004, Wind relocated the Shelter to a 12 bed facility in a quiet neighborhood of North Sacramento.  Last year the Shelter served 165 unduplicated youth who ranged in age from 12 to 18.  Using the shelter is strictly voluntary and Wind does not accept placements.  More than 90% of the kids who have been housed in the shelter exit to a safe alternative.  The average length of stay is six weeks, but some situations require longer lengths of stay. 

Wind is a place of possibility, a place of individual change and opportunity, and a place of second chances. Your support helps us move our youth in the right direction.

windyouth.org