When Anna, then 16, first came to our counseling program, she was newly released from the hospital. Her arms were marked with small, self-inflicted scars, carefully hidden beneath long sleeves.

In therapy at FCS, Anna spoke about the strain of her parents’ prolonged, hostile divorce and the stresses of being a teen in Silicon Valley. She had turned to cutting as a means to cope. In the hospital, she learned she was living with severe depression.

After Anna revealed that she used to find joy in drawing and painting, her therapist made sure paints, pencils, and paper were available at every session. They made art as they talked through painful topics and began to create a path forward toward wellness.

Her therapist invited Anna to pick up a paintbrush the next time she felt the impulse to harm herself with a blade. Pulling the brush over her scars, Anna’s eyes welled. She saw how hard she had been working, for too long, to hide her anger and grief from her parents, friends, even herself.

Session by session, thanks to long-term care our donors’ generosity made possible, the fog of depression lifted. Anna gained confidence. She learned healthier ways to manage stress—and never again required hospitalization. With the support of her therapist, she shared with her parents how their actions were affecting her.

Last June, she graduated from high school with her class, excited about plans for college and her growing collection of artwork.

Resilience is possible with compassion and quality care.

Twenty percent of 13- to 18-year-olds in the US have or will have a serious mental illness. With the help of our compassionate and generous donors, we reach teens with the professional care and support they need to heal and to learn to manage their conditions, before their dreams are derailed and they lose hope for their futures.

Expert care is possible thanks to the compassionate investment of our community.

“Being connected to FCS gave us the support needed to keep our faith as we endured the hardest period of our lives.”- Luisa, a San Jose mom

When winter floods ravaged some residential areas of San Jose, families were affected in all kinds of ways. As the Alvarez family dealt with the confusion of displacement, they faced an even more devastating challenge: Separation.

Just prior to the floods, mom Luisa began to experience mood and behavioral instability. The family had not yet had a chance to seek help. Concerned by Luisa’s behavior, social workers assisting families affected by the floods placed Edgar, 15 years old, in a group home.

Struggling to cope with the mother’s sudden onset of mental illness and the son’s placement in the system, the Alvarez family embraced the support of FCS’s counseling and family support services at their son’s school.

The team worked tirelessly on the family’s behalf. The mother was quickly connected with health professionals and learned that her destabilized behavior was the result of a severe eye infection requiring surgery.

With mom on the road to recovery, the parents moved in with extended family. The team helped Edgar and his father to navigate the process and advocate for reunification. At last the day came when they could welcome their son home with hugs and tears of relief and joy.

Your donation strengthens families and ensures a family in crisis is not left to struggle alone.

In our school services, we have seen an increase in the number of children from extremely low income households. Not just low income, but barely making it from month to month. These families are precarious and under extreme stress trying to stay housed, often on the brink of crisis. Most of the youth our therapist sees are coping with the effects of trauma.

Schools are often where student mental health needs are identified and support is provided. If you have interactions with schools, you’ve probably noticed that over the last 20 years or so schools have increasingly become hubs for all kinds of services, especially mental health.

School-based services are emerging as one of the most important prevention and early intervention strategies for students’ health and well-being. Half of lifetime diagnosable mental health disorders start by age 14. Reaching people early increases the likelihood of a better quality of life in adulthood.

Eva, for example, is a local middle school student one of our school-based therapists has been serving this year. She has been struggling with severe depression and anxiety. Just getting through the day can be a challenge sometimes, leading her to miss school often. Seeking to cope with her severe distress and escape from her reality, she turned to self-harm and considered suicide.

Alarmed, the school activated a support team to provide consistent counseling and case management support for Eva. The team of teachers, school psychologist, Columbia Neighborhood Center service coordinator, and Family & Children Services’ therapist worked together to address Eva’s needs and keep her safe.

Eva continues to experience a great deal of stress at home, yet having access to regular counseling services, where she feels safe expressing herself, having a safety plan for times when life seems too hard, and knowing people are there to help have moved Eva away from the brink. Our therapist works with her to learn to manage her depression and anxiety and to build positive coping skills.

Eva recently shared with our therapist that she would like to become a social worker herself one day. She would like to be there for people dealing with pain, as her support team has been there for her.

Early intervention is key to stemming the onset of more serious mental health conditions. Donations provide expert mental health care for youth in need.