Help Kids Enjoy Camp This Summer
Provide supplies for our Therapeutic Summer Camp 

For more information, email, or call 425.747.4937, extension 2714. Donations must be received by Friday, June 15 and can be taken to Youth Eastside Services Bellevue Office.

There is no doubt that kids today experience more stress. Some of this is simply due to the faster pace of our society. Sometimes stress is due to family issues like divorce, substance abuse or violence. But more often what's stressing our kids these days is the race to be the best--in school, sports, and standardized testing. Too many kids are coming to counselors and places like YES anxious, sleep deprived, depressed, and abusing alcohol or drugs. Here is some helpful information on what we can do as parents. 

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In the News   

Important information you want to know 

Smoking Pot Increasing in Teens: Teens who report using marijuana in the past month grew from 19% in 2008 to 27% last year, while those who smoked pot 20 or more times in the past month went from 5% ito 9%. For more on report by The Partnership at Drugfree.org, click here. 
 

Teens drinking hand sanitizer: The Seattle Times reports teens have recently been showing up in emergency rooms after drinking hand sanitizer. Click here for the full story on this dangerous trend.

 

Being sued for cyberbullying:  When law enforcement doesn't act, some victims of cyberbullying are fighting back in court with libel lawsuits, according to a recent report on KOMO4 News.

 

New eating disorders:  The American Psychiatric Association has introduced a new diagnostic category, "eating disorders not otherwise specified" or EDNOS. Included is "orthorexia" or a fixation with healthy or righteous eating. For the TODAY story on other EDNOS, click here.    

 

Courage to Overcome
Gabe shares a story of triumph over adversity

It was a morning of courage and hope at the 2012 YES Invest in Youth Breakfast. Keynote speaker, Elizabeth Smart, helped draw a crowd of approximately 1,000 guests who together donated more than $520K to help kids and their families on the Eastside.

Also featured was a young man named Gabe, a YES client, who told a story of courage and triumph that mesmerized the audience. Gabe was taken from his alcoholic mother at 2 years old due to neglect. He stayed briefly with his grandparents who also lost custody due to neglect and issues with anger. His father abused him and then returned him back to state custod

y when Gabe was five. Fortunately, his aunt came to his rescue and Gabe found love and support. He later found YES to help with the anger and abandonment issues that resulted from his tumultuous childhood.  Like Smart, Gabe overcame his adversity, has graduated from high school and is starting an internship. [click here to see Gabe's video story]

All money raised at the breakfast benefits the YES Lifeline Fund, which supports uncompensated care as well as underfunded prevention programs. YES saw a jump of 24.3% in the cost of uncompensated care in 2011. In the past five years, the agency has provided $1.2 million in uncompensated care. While YES accepts insurance, Medicaid, and offers a sliding fee scale, no one is turned away for inability to pay.  If you'd like to make a donation, click here.