Livingston County, NY – One of the most difficult and emotional things that Allyssa Butler has done in her job thus far as program director of Youth Advocate Programs’ (YAP®), Inc. Child Welfare program in Livingston, County, New York is stopping a youth from committing suicide.
“My main goal is to make sure youth are OK,” Butler said. “I am here for those kids.”
YAP® Livingston County receives referrals from the Department of Social Services for children and youth who range in age from babies to 21 years old. Backgrounds of program participants may also include victims of sex trafficking or abuse, trouble with the law, or they need family support or mental health services. The program currently serves 17 families who usually stay within the program for 6-8 months.
“Our youngest participants are five-month-old twins and the oldest is 17,” Butler said. “Providing wraparound support is truly what we stand for.”
YAP® is a national nonprofit that partners with youth justice, child welfare, and other systems in communities across the U.S. to deliver family-centered, accountability-focused services as an alternative to correctional and residential care facilities. The nonprofit’s evidence-based YAPWrap® services model, empowers program participants to see and nurture their strengths, connects them and their parents/ guardians, and other family members with economic, educational and emotional support to help them put their lives on a positive course.
In the two years that Allyssa Butler has served as the director of YAP® Livingston County, she and her team have helped families fill out resumes, and have shown parents/guardians how to cook, do laundry among other things.
“The most important part to me is the satisfaction and overall joy I get from helping families,” Butler said. “I like the good feeling I get from knowing that I am doing something. I am making a difference.”
Butler – whose program is in the Finger Lakes region of New York and in between Rochester, Buffalo and Syracuse – said her personal background of family abuse makes it somewhat easier for her to relate to young people and families in the youth justice and child welfare systems.
“I come from a lot of childhood trauma,” she said. “My biggest drive is to partner with these families so that they can understand that YAP is here to help.”
Butler started as an intern with the agency six years ago, before becoming a YAP® Advocate, and an assistant director for YAP®’s Ontario County, NY Child Welfare program.
“Allyssa is a go getter,” YAP® Regional Director Dana LaCoss said. “She is always willing to jump in on any project and support her regional director across all programs. She goes above and beyond for our team and her county. She worked hard to have a successful startup in Livingston County two years ago, and the county loves her approach and the mission of YAP. Allyssa embodies the one YAP concept and wants to support any where she can.”
While at the Ontario County program, Butler worked alongside YAP® Director of Administration Carl Graham as a recruitment specialist before she stepped into her current role.
“Allyssa has shown a passion and commitment to the YAP model while also extending herself to assist other programs and projects whenever called upon,” Graham said. “Allyssa’s strengths revolve around relationship-building, her knowledge, and a clear sense of unconditional care for others.”
Butler said she couldn’t do any of the work without the leadership of LaCoss and the support and teamwork of her staff.
“It definitely takes a YAP family to do what we do for sure,” she added. “We learn from each other every day. We celebrate the successes of the families we serve. YAPWRAP is what makes the organization different than anyone else.”
For more info on YAP®, visit yapinc.org.
