Can Youth Find Academic Success During Treatment?

Still Achieving Academic Success During Treatment

Tory came to Casa Pacifica at age 17. At first glance, Tory wasn’t a typical struggling teenager – very polite and mature. His mature demeanor, coupled with his tumultuous childhood, was part of the reason his struggles had been overlooked in the past.
His dad committed suicide and his mom attempted several times, he was eventually adopted but his adopted mother died from cancer. The significant loss of relationships throughout his young life, along with abuse created a war within him. Tory began to struggle with school attendance and started lashing out. Substance abuse also began to play a part.

At Casa Pacifica, Tory was accepted for his gender identity for the first time. He formed strong bonds with his clinician and cottage staff. His treatment plan mostly involved a lot of internal work and learning to allow himself to express anger and sadness instead of holding it in and then exploding. Tory had very high academic aspirations and continued to pursue them while he was here thanks to our dedicated staff. Staff made sure he got to his college prep workshops once a month. He has now successfully transitioned to a foster home and has stayed on course to receive multiple college scholarships.

Casa Pacifica’s Residential Treatment Center provides services for foster and at-risk youth ages 9-17 years, placed by county agencies like child welfare, adoption, school districts, and probation. These youth exhibit complex emotional and/or behavioral problems that prevent their success in a foster or group home placement.

A gift today provides critical funding for Casa Pacifica’s programs like the Residential Treatment Center.
A gift today is a gift to children like Tory.

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Is Your Child Being Bullied?

The National Center for Education Statistics cites that at least 20 percent of students ages 12 to 18 report some sort of bullying at school. The effects of bullying can have long-term negative consequences and can color childhood with fear, isolation or social anxiety. Initial research shows that while physical bullying still exists, cyberbullying has increased by 70 percent (L1ght.com) since shutdowns due to COVID-19. With the closure of local businesses, social distancing restrictions in place and remote learning, kids are online more than ever before. Parents are balancing working from home and may be too overwhelmed to adequately monitor their youth’s online activity. In turn, many youth are feeling stressed, isolated or bored and may lash out online.

Read More HERE

Support Youth And Families
During The Holiday Season

It’s time for Casa Pacifica’s Wishes Drive! Support the basic, year round needs of the youth, choose a dove and fill a child’s holiday wish or sponsor a family. For more information and to help support the youth and families we serve this holiday season click HERE.

Our CEO Is Faster Than Your CEO!

Here on campus our Recreation Therapy team has established a running club for the youth. Our very own CEO Shawna Morris is a marathoner and accomplished runner and so she joins them on their weekly runs. Recently the club, along with Shawna, completed a 5k. One youth decided to challenge herself and was able to keep up with Shawna the whole 3.1 miles. She was so proud of herself and when she finished she said “I didn’t think I could do that!” Thank you Shawna for leading and encouraging our youth by example!

Youth Update – Carnival Day

We recently held a Festival Day on campus hosted by our Clinical Team! The kids had a blast at the various booths like the fish bowl toss (minus the fish), pie in the face and more where the kids could collect tickets they could later turn in for prizes! There was also a high striker, dunk tank, featuring our Recreation Therapy team, miniature horses, rabbits and lots of fun food items! It was such a fun day! Thanks to our Clinical Team and to all the departments that helped make this day a huge success!

Register HERE

A Tax Saving Way to Help Casa Pacifica

See Your Generosity
in ActionIf you are 70½ years or older, you can take advantage of a simple way to benefit Casa Pacifica and receive tax benefits in return. You can give any amount up to $100,000 per year from your IRA directly to Casa Pacifica without having to pay income taxes on the money. This popular gift option is commonly called the IRA charitable rollover, also referred to as a qualified charitable distribution (QCD).
For more information, contact Madeline Sattler, Donor Relations Officer at [email protected] or (805) 366-4422.

Learn More HERE

Join Our Team!

Want to make a difference in a child or family’s life? Camino a Casa and Casa Pacifica are always looking for motivated people to join our team at one of our four locations in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties. Current positions include:

Youth Development Specialist
Special Education Teacher
Bilingual Crisis Care Specialist – Santa Barbara

Visit our website to see all available positions and apply today!

View Available Positions

Ways You Can Help

1. Shop! Shopping online at Target? Who can resist Amazon these days? Put those shopping sprees to good use and shop for our kids! Check out our Target registry or Amazon wish list and have items shipped straight to us. And don’t forget to sign up for Amazon Smile and designate Casa Pacifica as your charity of choice so we receive a percentage of your purchases!

2. Give monthly and change lives year round!
You can give the gift of hope all year long with the ease of monthly giving. Automatic monthly donations provide consistent support that enables Casa Pacifica to serve our most vulnerable children and their families. Even small gifts add up to make a big difference. Please give a monthly gift and support year-round to offer our youth a brighter future. Signing up is easy! Contact Madeline Sattler, Donor Relations Officer at [email protected] or (805)366-4422.

3. Become an Angel or Amigo! These two groups are some of our biggest supporters. The Casa Pacifica Angels help out with our fundraising events and children’s parties throughout the year. The Casa Pacifica Amigos organize fun activities for the kids on the weekends – some favorites are carnival day and movie nights. Annual membership is $50 – join or gift a membership today!

Sign up to become an ANGEL or AMIGO!

Thank you to our Corporate Leaders!

Our Mission
Casa Pacifica restores hope, enhances resilience, and strengthens community connections for children, young adults and families at the most challenging times of their lives.

Donate today!