Press Releases: Southern California
June 19, 2008
Kaiser Permanente Helps Youth Grow, Prosper, and Thrive
The Educational Outreach Program Marks 15 Years of Service to Youth and Their Families in the San Gabriel Valley
PASADENA, Calif. – Kaiser Permanente will host a dedication ceremony at its new 3,200 square-foot facility, which will house the ever-expanding Baldwin Park Educational Outreach Program on Thursday, June 19, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The state-of-the-art facility, located at 4141 Maine Ave. in the center of Baldwin Park, provides more room to launch new programs and expand existing programs that help people grow, prosper and thrive.
"The Baldwin Park EOP is just one way that Kaiser Permanente reaches out to the community," said Diana Bontá, RN, DrPH, vice president, public affairs, Kaiser Permanente Southern California region. "It also helps fulfill the Kaiser Permanente mission – to provide affordable, high-quality health care services to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve."
Baldwin Park EOP is a free community service provided by Kaiser Foundation Hospitals to young people and their parents. More the 200 youth and their parents participate in program activities each year. The programs offered at Baldwin Park EOP help to empower the youth and their families are:
- After School Assistance Program
- Counseling
- Educational Outreach Program
- Healthy Habits Outreach
- Mother and Daughters: Aprendiendo Juntas
- Mother Read/Father Read
- Mental Health Clinicians Training
- Parent Academy
- Summer Learning
- Youth Work Preparation
One of the program’s success stories includes Araceli Mata, who will participate in the dedication ceremony. "I was 12 years old when my mother and I enrolled in the Mother and Daughter program," she said. "The program helped us communicate and made it easier for me to tell her I wanted to be a police officer." Her mother was fearful of her choice but supported Araceli. She is now a police officer for the city of San Bernardino. Kaiser Permanente's Mother and Daughter Program celebrated its 14th anniversary with a yearly conference in which young women and their mothers participated in sessions that provided tools for improved communication and promoted a positive self-body image.
Invited to attend the dedication are: Dr. Ed Hernandez, Assemblyman 57 District; Alicia Chavez, Field Representative for Congresswoman Hilda Solis; Susan Reyes, Field Representative for Assemblyman Hernandez; Marlen Garcia, Councilwoman city of Baldwin Park; Joseph Gonzalez, Councilman for city of South El Monte; and Christine Dennis, Assistant Superintendent for Baldwin Park Unified School District.
For more information about the Baldwin Park EOP, contact Diana Rivera-Beltran, MSW, Program Manager, at (626) 814-6408.
Since, 1992, Kaiser Permanente Educational Outreach Program has provided multidimensional service activities to youth and their families in Baldwin Park and the surrounding area. The program activities have been developed to help students improve their school performance, to cultivate healthy lifestyle practices, to develop leadership skills and learn to plan for new educational and career opportunities.
About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is America's leading integrated health plan. Founded in 1945, it is a nonprofit, group practice prepayment program with Southern California headquarters in Pasadena, California. Kaiser Permanente serves the health care needs of 3.3 million members in Southern California. Today it encompasses the nonprofit Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and their subsidiaries, and the for-profit Southern California Permanente Medical Group. Kaiser Permanente's Southern California Region includes more than 49,900 technical, administrative and clerical employees and caregivers, and more than 6,000 physicians representing all specialties. More information about Kaiser Permanente can be found at kaiserpermanente.org.
