A Note from our Executive Director
Dear friend,
Our Family Resource Center recently received a letter from one of our parents. She said, “If it wasn’t for you ... my son and I would not be here in Santa Barbara. ... The only reason I am back in school is because I want to be able to provide a better life for my son and I. Going to school full-time while working and raising another human being ... and doing it alone is really overwhelming at times. When we met I was defeated. After leaving your office I was optimistic and had options... Eres la mejor y te agradezco mucho.”
Isla Vista Youth Projects’ is expanding! Well, actually, we have been continually expanding. Shortly after I came on board at IVYP, we mapped where all of the thousands of clients we serve live. To my great surprise, only 12% of our families live in Isla Vista proper. The rest? They live mostly in Goleta. Some live on UCSB property. Quite a few live in Santa Barbara as well.
We will never stop being a voice for the children and families of Isla Vista. If not us, then who? But, because so many of our families are in Goleta, we are opening new Family Resource Center offices in Goleta! I’m so excited about our new office. We will have plenty of space to support our families with counseling, a computer lab, and classes. And we will continue our work in Isla Vista, by delivering services to families at Isla Vista Elementary School and at the Isla Vista Community Room.
I am so proud that we are there for the families that need us, in Isla Vista, in Goleta and beyond.
Lori Goodman
Executive Director