PROGRAMS
Compassion is a way we mirror to each other the truth that we are all worthy of love. As we embrace this truth, we find refuge during our most difficult and trying times, it reminds us to never give up on hope!
— Steven Kim
Conexiones is a collaborative service effort led by the Santa Ana Unified District to provide substance use and mental health treatment along with employment and diversion services. These services are provided at eight target school sites in the City of Santa Ana. The Project Kinship team provides one on one Substance Use counseling, recovery groups, referrals to mental health services, and diversion and employment services. We provides Conexiones services at the following schools:
Restorative Practices are based on the principles of Restorative Justice. The approach and philosophy are complementary to the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports Model (PBIS) in addressing issues of school climate and student needs. Restorative Practice is evidence based and used as Tier I, II, and III interventions as well as an alternative to suspension and/or expulsion. We provide Restorative Practices in 3 Districts: SAUSD, GGUSD, and BOUSD at 17 varying schools from K-12.
Our services include Crisis Gang Intervention • Paraprofessional Counseling • Family Support • Home Visits • Intensive Case Management • Mediation Support • Restorative Circles • Small Theme-Based Circles: Arts & Healing, Seeking Safety, Leadership, and Women Empowerment
Click the button below to find out more about SAUSD Restorative Practices Intervention Specialist
Prop 47 – Community Support and Recovery Center (CSRC)
Due to the ground-breaking work we have done within Orange County to prevent and support at-risk community members, the Health Care Agency of Orange County partnered with us to lead reentry services in OC. As a result, Safe Haven/CSRC was born. Our CSRC provides case management, behavioral health counseling, drug and alcohol counseling, peer support services, basic needs assistance, and support groups for recently released community members.
Safe Haven provides services to clients who are 18 years and older, have mild to moderate mental health and SUD needs, and are non-violent offenders. The Safe Haven Engagement Team is also stationed at the Intake and Release Center at Men’s Central Jail in Santa Ana. There they provide connections to basic needs and referrals upon release. Safe Haven works to support clients to improve their lives and reduce incarceration.
Corner of Hope includes key sets of activities such as tutoring, homework assistance, and a youth-focused restorative circle. Our restorative circles build a sense of community by creating a safe space for participants, staff, and other stakeholders (i.e. family members, administration) to interact. Corner of Hope follows a trauma-informed approach that allows participants to assess environmental, family, and peer-related challenges that can be addressed and supported as a group. Through Corner of Hope, youth participate in topics relevant to their needs, which they named “PK Youngsters”. Through this program, PK Youngsters began to see power in their stories, and many began to write poems and songs. As we built the program, older youth became key team players in serving as mentors to those who are younger and newer to Project Kinship services.
Work and Gain Employment & Education Skills (WAGEES) supports youth and young adults that have been justice impacted and experienced systematic discrimination. They also face barriers to employment and education. WAGEES provides intensive case management, goal setting, and addresses barriers to self-sufficiency i.e. substance abuse, trauma, education, and social-economic status. We provide employment training, credential and certification attainment, and assistance with furthering education through completing a high school diploma, enrolling in trade school, or post-secondary institutions. Participants also attend workshops in the areas of life skills development, employment training, and exposure to education. The WAGEES team and case managers provide services directly to participants and/or in group settings. Participants receive supportive services in the areas of transportation assistance, personal and employment clothing, basic needs, auto repair assistance, book assistance, and temporary housing placement/payment assistance. While in the program, participants are rewarded for reaching milestones, and in follow up in the form of incentives and stipends for attending workshops, groups, and individual counseling. After successful completion of WAGEES or the WIOA program, every participant receives a minimum of 12 months of follow up assistance and case management.
The Project Kinship Community Health Outreach and Engagement team (CHIOC) offers social services assistance to youth and adults impacted by incarceration in all over Orange County. We leverage our partnership with the OC Sheriff’s Department to increase outreach in all detention facilities around the county. This includes the facility with the highest security, Theo Lacy Facility. CHIOC’s goal is to improve our capacity for intakes within all correctional facilities in OC including, Men’s Central Jail, Women’s Central Jail, and the county’s Intake Release Center. To expand our enrollment outreach, the CHIOC team works closely with community partners and shelters. Upon release, the Community Health team assists clients through virtual case management and retaining and facilitating doctor visits.
The cornerstone of the YDC is the assignment of program participants to one court for the maintenance of youth and young adults during their time in the Orange County Juvenile Justice System. The program includes the participation of the District Attorney’s office, the Public Defender’s Office, appointee counsel, the Probation Department, the Health Care Agency, the Department of Education, and other relevant community-based non-profits. A joint case planning and management effort are utilized for each YDC participant. The program includes life and job skills training, education services, and therapeutic services. A core component of the program is to provide each youth and young adult with access to these services to instill the vision and confidence needed for them to be successful in the community.
Since its inception in 2014, Project Kinship has grown rapidly into an extensive resource for the Orange County community. Working in 17 different schools, advocating and educating on mental health, and providing employment opportunities for those who are post-incarcerated, Project Kinship maintains a core value; proving a safe space where those who have experienced significant trauma may heal. We recognize that an overwhelming number of people we serve fall into the school to prison pipeline due to significant and formative trauma they have experienced. We know that this cycle of despair will end when people begin healing. We see this positive effect happening in the schools we work with. Though the youth in the schools we work with have experienced deep trauma and often lack resources, they have been able to experience healing through Restorative Practices, school help, and community circles. Project Kinship has also had the privilege to provide healing to adults through job assistance, housing assistance, and more to those who face harsh judgement in society.
“Our Work is about serving and not saving. In the process of serving, we also find our own healing.” – Co-Founder, Steve Kim. Project Kinship envisions a world where hope lives and the cycle of despair ends. Will you join us in embracing this vision, and help continue to make it a reality?
Project Kinship works to increase community safety and promotes hope, health, and well being in Orange County by providing opportunities to young adults who face barriers to education and employment.
We use a holistic approach within a multi-disciplinary team that consists of mental health professionals, employment specialist, educational liaisons, case managers, and mentors that are able to meet participants where they are.
OUR PARTICIPANTS:
OUR SERVICES:
EMPLOYER BENEFITS
At Project Kinship, we believe that rehabilitation and recovery from mental health and substance use challenges are possible. Our team of behavioral health providers includes therapists and substance use counselors as well as peer navigators who walk beside our participants throughout their recovery journey. We know that recovery is not always linear and can include setbacks and start-overs. Our team is trained in evidence-based practices as well as trauma informed care to provide treatment uniquely tailored to each individual.
PK HEADQUARTERS
2215 N. Broadway Suite 2
Santa Ana, CA 92706
(714) 941-8009
HOURS
Monday-Friday: 7:00am – 5:00pm
Saturday: Closed
Sunday: Closed
Project Kinship is fiscally sponsored by Charitable Ventures of Orange County, a 501c3 nonprofit organization