River Oak Center for Children: Youth In Focus

Please click here to view a short video clip of a presentation by River Oak’s Youth in Focus teens that describes their experiences as mental health consumers. The AT&T Foundation generously sponsored the technology that enabled our teens to complete this project.
AT&T's grant was featured in a recent edition of the Alliance for Children and Families e-newsletter.

Teens served by River Oak are faced with extraordinary challenges in developing skills to
manage potentially life-long mental health issues. Many have witnessed crisis in their home
and therefore have had multiple adverse childhood experiences. As a result of their traumatic
histories, these youth struggle with emotional and behavioral difficulties and frequently have a
sense of worthlessness, poor self-confidence, and low self-esteem.

One of River Oak's many goals for our teens (and all children and youth we serve) is to help
them realize that what they think and say matters and that they have much to contribute to
society. A step towards the realization of this vision is River Oak's creation of a transition age
youth group called Youth In Focus that engages and empowers youth receiving mental
health services through the agency.

The group, made up of teens ages 13-17, is currently conducting a survey of all youth 12-21
receiving treatment at River Oak, to inform the agency's clinical practice and provide insight
into how to become an increasingly youth-friendly organization. Additionally, the teens host
their own youth events and hold weekly team meetings at locations throughout Sacramento.