“We’ve been where you are and know how to help you through it,
” says Ebony Chambers, Stanford Youth Solutions’ Family
Partner.
Family Partners and Peer Mentors offer their own
personal experiences and advocacy skills as a valuable layer of
support to the youth and families in Stanford Youth Solution’s
programs. Having similar experiences in their past, these
important partners empower young people and their families to
lead their own care teams and get their needs met.
Family Partners are staff members who have personal experience in
the child welfare, mental health or juvenile justice systems as a
consumer and/or as a parent/caregiver. Peer Mentors are young
adults also employed by Stanford Youth Solutions who have
personal experience within the foster care system.
Family Partners and Peer Mentors have four key functions within
Stanford Youth Solutions:
To make families (parents, caregivers, and youth) equal
partners -if not leaders- in the development and implementation
of their service plans;
To represent the needs and perspectives of families (parents,
caregivers, and youth) to internal and external stakeholders and
decision makers within the system of care;
To ensure that families (parents, caregivers, and youth) have
access to a comprehensive array of prevention and support
services that meet their individual needs; and
To ensure services are family-centered, easily accessible,
respectful of cultural, ethnic and other community
characteristics, and stigma free.
