Supporting youth during COVID-19 using TeleHealth
Lidia Harding
For parents For teens Programs Substance Abuse Youth and Family Counseliing
As part of our commitment to the community, we wanted to share how YES is actively responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
We are taking action to protect our clients, young people in the community, and staff, while also maintaining our critical operations. We know that at a time when everything feels so overwhelming, mental health and wellness is more important than ever.
During this crisis YES is determined to provide critical programs and services in responsible, creative and flexible ways to serve children, youth and families struggling with mental health and substance use challenges.
- On March, 17, in line with Washington State and King County Public Health guidelines, YES made the decision to close our physical office locations and manage operations remotely.
- The week before closing our locations, clinical executives and staff worked tirelessly to set up TeleHealth, a confidential, web-based video technology, to continue to deliver evidence-based mental health and substance use services and programs to clients virtually. This new technology is an efficient way for young people and families to attend appointments using a phone or tablet from the safety of their own home.
- We are also using this technology to reach young participants in our community-based and school-based education and prevention programs.
We believe these services are more critical now than ever as young people in our community are experiencing isolation, anxiety and other challenges related to this health crisis.