CYS youth participants often have a talent that is revealed during mediation and provides a springboard for a meaningful restitution. […more…]
17-year-old Nicole T. was facing felony weapons charges when referred to CYS by LA County Sheriff’s deputies for assessment and […more…]
Judging from the number of skills and hours Andre T. Moore, Sr. contributes to the well-being of our Los Angeles […more…]
When Jessica Ellis explains why she works at Centinela Youth Services (CYS), she can’t shake the memory of an 11-year-old […more…]
Centinela Youth Services
www.cys-la.org
(310) 970-7785
Executive Director: Jessica J. Ellis
Mission
Centinela Youth Services strengthens families and communities and helps build successful students and productive adults, leveraging the principles of restorative justice to empower peaceful conflict resolution. We are committed to ending the institutionalized practices in schools and justice systems that are primarily responsible for maintaining the school-to-prison pipeline, and disproportionately impact youth of color.
Begin to Build a Relationship
We know you care about where your money goes and how it is used. Connect with this organization’s leadership in order to begin to build this important relationship. Your email will be sent directly to this organization’s director of development and/or Executive Director.
The current punitive justice system doesn’t work, so we have to figure out a way to stop the cycle. We cannot continue to lock kids up and throw them away like they don’t matter.
Become a Champion for Change
Centinela Youth Services has a long-term vision to ensure all youths have an equal opportunity to thrive and become contributing members of their communities.
“True change, focused on equity, takes sustainable, predictable revenue and committed champions,” says Executive Director Jessica Ellis. Through 2022, CYS will be growing its Champions for Change Circle – C3.
Donors who commit to three years of giving at least $1,000 annually have the opportunity to hear directly from impacted families, learn about system equity issues and help advise on CYS’s policy change efforts. Contributors will help CYS reach more young people, going beyond the 2,500 it already serves each year.
Ellis says it’s not enough to simply provide direct services to families in need if the organization isn’t simultaneously addressing the systemic causes that drove the need in the first place: “We’d like to give our supporters more of a window on these often-unseen forces at work.”
Key Supporters
Ahmanson Foundation
Ballmer Group
Black Equity Initiative
California Board of State
and Community Corrections
California Community Foundation
Annie E. Casey Foundation
Winona Dorris
Michael Douglass
Everychild Foundation
Goodwin Family Foundation
Dr. Mark Henderson
L.A. County
Ralph M. Parsons Foundation
Robert Pullen-Miles
Danielle Sevilla
Bernadette Suárez
Union Bank
Olivia Valentine
Weingart Foundation