News & Updates from Danbury Youth Services

DYS Newsletter - Fall 2023

Message from the Director

Dear Friends of DYS,

As students head back to school, we are looking forward with excitement to our fall programs as we open our doors to more youth in the community. When I was named Executive Director of Danbury Youth Services, one of my goals was to expand programming. During the time I spent managing programs here, I saw first-hand the positive impact they have on youth. DYS after-school programs help youth develop social skills, build self-esteem, manage stress, achieve academic success, learn coping skills and build connections in the community. Our hope is that these programs may serve as an intervention and help alleviate the anxiety and depression that many young people are feeling.

DYS relies on individual, corporate and community support to meet the needs of our clients and to provide many of our programs at no cost. We are so grateful for your lasting support especially as we continually strive to increase the number of youth and families we serve.

I wish everyone a great start to the school year! Please don't hesitate to reach out to me with any questions, comments or suggestions - I welcome the opportunity to meet more members of our community.

Sincerely,

Tammy

Tammy Mikadze

DYS Executive Director

Thank you to our supporters who celebrated at the

Butterfly Breakfast

We are grateful for our DYS family who joined us in support of the work we do. The annual Butterfly Breakfast was a success, bringing together over 100 attendees and raising critical funds that enable us to provide youth access to valuable mental health, youth development and restorative justice programs.

The impact is evident, as Damla Caylan shared her personal experience as a participant in the JRB program. It helped her view things from a different perspective and take more responsibility. One of the program requirements was mentoring middle school girls in GALs which helped her take life more seriously and realize her potential. "Without the JRB program, I probably wouldn't be in college right now," Caylan said.

DYS raised over $20,000 thanks to our breakfast sponsors: Linde, Union Savings Bank, Housing Authority of Danbury, M&T Bank, Newtown Savings Bank, Nuvance Health, Wells Fargo Advisors, Diversified Printing Solutions, Reynolds & Rowella, Savings Bank of Danbury & Kovacs Construction Corporation as well as countless supporters who purchased program ads, provided raffle items, made generous donations and attended the event.

Summer Youth Employment Program was success!

The Summer Youth Employment Program is a six-week work program that provides youth ages 14 – 24 with first-time work experience and hands-on learning opportunities. DYS partners with a variety of local businesses, city departments and community non-profits to offer diverse experiences for the youth participants which include childcare, clerical work, retail and environmental activities.

This summer, 57 young men and women worked at 15 worksites and successfully completed the program. In addition to job exploration, life skills workshops are offered each Friday. Topics included healthy relationships, self-esteem, financial literacy and prevention education.

Thank you to all of our worksites and workshop presenters for sharing your knowledge and guiding the teens!

The Summer Youth Employment Program is made possible through funding from the Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board.

DYS Staff Updates

As the demand for mental health services drastically increases,

DYS welcomes new clinicians to help meet the needs in our community:

Kim Gioia, Paul Laedke, Mandy Riordan and Ryan Soto

New Program Coordinators have joined our team:

Bashard Brooks - Earn-A-Bike

Tabitha Figueroa - GALs & Earn-A-Bike

Summer Fun for TARGET Kids

Youth participating in the Teaching And Reaching Gaining Excellence Together (TARGET) program were busy this summer! They went on field trips visiting the Danbury Library, enjoying breakfast at Mothership on Main, exploring the Maritime Aquarium, expressing their artistic talents and staying cool at Danbury splash pads and Quassy Waterpark all while building social and emotional skills and practicing healthy living.

Board News

DYS welcomes new Members to

our Board of Directors:

Mikolaj Wiciak, Laura Harter

and Makayla Reid

We are grateful to our departing

Board Members for dedicating

their time and talents to DYS.

John Goglietino - 18 Years

Brian McGuigan - 20 Years

If you are interested in joining the

DYS Board of Directors, please email tmikadze@danburyyouthservices.org

Day of Action

An amazing team of volunteers from Union Savings Bank joined us on United Way of Western Connecticut's Day of Action to help clear out the basement and organize all of the tools and parts for our Earn-A-Bike program. We are so thankful for their time and effort!

Registration is Open for Fall Programs

Our Mission: Empower youth and families to build positive and fulfilling lives.

Our Values: Excellence, Compassion, Leadership, Respect

DYS is a 501(c)3 non-profit agency designated as the Youth Services Bureau for the City of Danbury and a licensed psychiatric clinic through the Connecticut Department of Children and Families. Please consider supporting our Youth & Family Counseling, Youth Employment, Restorative Justice, and Youth Development programs.

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Throwback to 1992

Youth participating in the Healthiness Program which evolved into

the TARGET Program that DYS continues to offer today!

DYS was initially organized in the late 1960's under the name Danbury Area Unified Social Services. The agency has gone through many evolution's over the past 54 years but remains committed to addressing the critical needs of our community by providing comprehensive services with demonstrated results. Each year, our staff of licensed clinicians and specialists work with at-risk youth and families in the areas of substance abuse prevention, social skills development, parenting, crisis intervention and family therapy. DYS turns no one away for the inability to pay.

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