ECS Para Las Familias Receives a $70,000 Grant from San Diego Foundation and the Dr. Seuss Foundation

PLF receives a grant to continue providing therapy services to families and children in the San Diego community. August 2022.

Episcopal Community Services’ (ECS) Para Las Familias program provides critical mental and behavioral health services for the youngest members of San Diego’s community and the need for these therapy services continues to grow. To continue to help ECS provide these services at no cost, ECS was recently awarded a $70,000 grant from San Diego Foundation and the Dr. Seuss Foundation.

“For more than 22 years, our Para Las Familias program has worked to strengthen the mental and behavioral health of children throughout our community,” said Elizabeth (Fitzsimons) Wilberg, ECS chief executive officer. “We have seen firsthand the impacts traumatic experiences can have not only on children, but also on their parents and caregivers. Through Para Las Familias, we aim to provide accessible and affordable therapy services. This grant from San Diego Foundation and the Dr. Seuss Foundation allows us to continue building upon the good work we are already doing.”

ECS’ outpatient bicultural and bilingual Para Las Familias program serves children 18 months to 12 years old and their families throughout south San Diego County, and works to strengthen the foundational bonds that will set children on track for healthy relationships, self-confidence, and success in school and beyond. Para Las Familias’ therapists provide screening, assessment, family and group therapy, school observation, and teacher/provider consultation at Para Las Familias’ offices, or in the child’s home or classroom. In addition, Para Las Familias also provides adult mental health services and weekly parenting groups to the caregivers of the children it serves. To learn more about Para Las Familias and how to access its services, visit https://www.ecscalifornia.org/para-las-familias or call (619) 565-2650.

About Episcopal Community Services 

For more than 97 years, ECS has been taking action to end generational cycles of hardship, advancing equity and opportunity across our region. The organization is focused on breaking barriers and empowering individuals to create a community where all can pursue an abundant life. Serving more than 6,000 individuals a year, ECS’ programs increase access to early childhood education and development services and strengthen the mental and behavioral health of individuals and families in our communities. For more information on ECS, visit https://www.ecscalifornia.org/. 

ECS Welcomes Four New Board Members

Fueling the organization’s mission to break barriers and transform communities within San Diego, Episcopal Community Services (ECS) is adding four new members to its board of directors to support ongoing program enhancements and increase awareness throughout the community.

New board members include: Hezekiah Herrera, special education teacher for the Alpine Union School District; Erica Martin, senior counsel at San Diego Gas & Electric; Katie Tran, marketing and events director at the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce; and Oscar Gomez, chief operations officer at Ronald McDonald House Charities of San Diego. The directors will leverage their unique experience and talent to support ECS’ vision of an equitable society where all have unlimited potential.

“With the reinvigorated focus of our new strategic direction, ECS is tapping into talented partners throughout the San Diego region to join us as we work toward our vision,” said Elizabeth (Fitzsimons) Wilberg, CEO of ECS. “Our new board members each bring valuable experience and dedication to our community. They will help fuel ECS’ commitment to working collaboratively through partnerships to advance our shared goals, enhance our programs for greater impact, and strengthen awareness within our community to drive regional change.”

Hezekiah Herrera (top left), Katie Tran (bottom left), Oscar Gomez (top right), and Erica Martin (bottom right) join ECS Board. July 2022.

In addition to Herrera’s special education classroom experience, he brings a unique perspective to the board as a former client of ECS’ Para Las Familias program, which provides bilingual behavioral and mental health services to families with young children. His experience as both a teacher and an ECS client will ensure the client experience remains top of mind for the board.  Before becoming an educator, he worked in the public affairs and communications field and has also served on multiple city, county and nonprofit organization boards and commissions. Herrera resides in the Hillcrest neighborhood of San Diego with his two children.

Martin is senior counsel at SDG&E and practices in the areas of regulatory and environmental law, representing the company before the California Public Utilities Commission and other federal, state and local agencies. Martin’s knowledge of the regulatory environment and her vast network of relationships throughout the region will help support ECS’ goals for increased partnership and collaboration. In addition to joining the ECS board of directors, Martin currently sits on the advisory board of the Copley-Price YMCA and is the legal advisor to the Vestry at St. Michael’s By-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Carlsbad. She resides in the Normal Heights neighborhood of San Diego with her husband, Kyle, and their two children.

Through her role at the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, Tran’s experience in creatively executing virtual, hybrid and in-person events, profitable budget and contract management, and improving the overall event experience will play a critical role in enhancing ECS’ range of events to reach targeted communities and bring awareness to the organization. Alongside her position on the board, Tran is currently co-leading the formation and direction of the ECS Young Professionals Group to help engage young leaders in the community and serves on the Resource Development Committee for ECS. Tran lives in the Oak Park neighborhood of San Diego with her husband, Duy, and their son.

Gomez brings nearly two decades of experience in early childhood education and operations work with nonprofits to his role on the board. He previously served as the deputy of director of child development at MAAC, overseeing the organization’s Head Start program, performance standards and federal reviews. With his extensive knowledge of the Head Start program and as a proud Head Start alumnus, Gomez will help elevate the voices of the communities in which ECS serves through education and leadership. He is currently the chief operations officer of Ronald McDonald House Charities of San Diego and previously held roles as the director of parenting services at Jewish Family Service and operations chief of the United States Marine Corps. Gomez resides in Oceanside with his wife, Melinda, and their two children.

About Episcopal Community Services

For more than 97 years, ECS has been taking action to end generational cycles of hardship, advancing equity and opportunity across our region. The organization is focused on breaking barriers and empowering individuals to create a community where all can pursue an abundant life. Serving more than 6,000 individuals a year, ECS’ programs increase access to early childhood education and development services and strengthen the mental and behavioral health of individuals and families in our communities. For more information on ECS, visit https://www.ecscalifornia.org/.

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Leslie Manriquez and Her Experiences with Para Las Familias

Leslie Manriquez shares her experiences at the Sunset Social Pre-Party Kick Off. May 2022.

We’re excited to highlight Leslie Manriquez for her work at ECS over the past few years. We were able to sit down with Leslie and ask her about her experiences at ECS as well as her thoughts on the future of the Para Las Familias Program (PLF).

How long have you been at ECS, and what brought you to the organization and Para Las Familias specifically?

I've been working for PLF for about a little bit over three years now. Initially, I had been working with adults and some teenagers before PLF. I wasn't sure of the idea of working with this population. It was a bit scary for me because it was a group that I was not used to working with. Still, I really liked the attachment model, and I had learned about it before working for PLF. 

I figured this was something I really wanted to do and believe in. I went, applied for the position as a clinician there, and learned the model better. 

We have an awesome clinical supervisor and a very knowledgeable team. After some time, I really started enjoying working with the 0-5 population. I really like this population and working in this area because I grew up in South Chula Vista. This is my community.

I've always wanted to work and make an impact on the community. I really do feel that Para Las Familias' work is something special; I've seen the program's impact on the community. Even by word of mouth, families refer us to other families and friends in the community.

What is your favorite thing about your job? What are you looking forward to most stepping into this new role?

My favorite part about this job is the good clinical work. The organization is very supportive of the work that we do. So, it's nice to work in an organization that is supportive of their staff, supportive of the training, and the services that we provide to the community are very high-quality services.

There's also the hidden bonus of having a great team, which is another plus. I have experienced great connections with the team. Everyone is very supportive of each other, has different strengths, and shares ways to support the families. Not to mention everybody's just very friendly and easygoing, which is always nice to have. A climate and a work environment where everybody is very helpful, supportive, and communicates well is honestly the best bonus I can ask for.

What are some things you hope to focus more on, or are there any changes you would like to make within the next few months to even years?

Well, initially, we'll continue to support the staff. Having had the experience of being a clinician, I think there are many ways to help the team and the workflow. Because it is a demanding job, it can be very emotionally taxing. 

But I think we can really troubleshoot anything that can be challenging. So that programmatic stuff or making the workflow easier is one of the biggest things. In the long term, the bigger picture is to continue building relationships with them and the community to expand the people we reach because we know there's a significant need for services for the certified.

Even though we are recognized through either just word of mouth or just other community members, I feel that we can still reach more families. One of the things that I'd like to expand where we reach and where people know us and build more connections in the community. I hope it doesn't become complicated to seek services.

One of the things that I still have a hard time with is that finding mental health services in the community is not very intuitive. It continues to be a struggle for the community. That's also one of the things that I really want to focus on and have the program reach out more and in places where more people really don't know about us.

ECS Partners with TOOTRiS to Connect Families with Head Start

Episcopal Community Services (ECS), a nonprofit social services agency providing early childhood education and other critical services to children and adults across San Diego, has partnered with TOOTRiS, a first-of-its-kind platform that provides on-demand Child Care. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the struggles of working parents across the nation to find affordable, high-quality care for their children. To help make this difficult time easier on low-income families, ECS and TOOTRiS have come together to connect parents with ECS’ Head Start programs. All of ECS’s 17 Head Start sites are now accessible for free on the TOOTRiS platform, which allows parents to look near their home or work, using filters to find Child Care that fits their needs and budgetary requirements – even for temporary slots or drop-ins – and to view photos of the site and arrange a visit. This partnership will provide parents assurance that their children are being engaged, enriched, and supported by a licensed preschool provider, allowing parents to focus on work and other responsibilities.

“We feel privileged to be instrumental in helping Elizabeth (Fitzsimons) Wilberg and her team at ECS achieve their noble vision of providing quality early childhood education to our communities,” said Alessandra Lezama, Founder & CEO of TOOTRiS. “With this partnership, families in our region can now have critical on-demand access to these Head Start programs with an easy click of a button."

Of the families enrolled in ECS’s Head Start and Early Head Start educational programs, 70% have one or more parent/guardian that is employed, and almost 90% of the families identify as Hispanic. Many families with children under five years of age meet the eligibility criteria for Head Start, including those who are foster youth, special needs, or below the federal poverty level. According to the CDC, essential workers are more likely to belong to these populations and provide critical support to their communities. For an essential worker, a flexible schedule from an employer is rare and may not allow for instances where affordable and quality care can consistently be secured.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with TOOTRiS, who has made it their mission to tackle a huge issue in our region: lack of affordable high-quality care,” said Elizabeth (Fitzsimons) Wilberg, Chief Executive Officer at ECS. “Part of our organization’s mission is to empower adults and this partnership will do just that by connecting parents to quality early childhood education. This is a great opportunity to help children learn and grow, and support parents who work hard to provide for their families.”

ECS provides more than $30 million in health and human services in the areas of homelessness, mental health, substance use disorder treatment, and early childhood education to more than 6,000 clients in San Diego. Founded in 2019, TOOTRiS is a start-up company that provides 100% free resources to more than 122,000 childcare providers in 22 states, connects working parents to these programs in real-time, and enables employers to incorporate Child Care as a benefit through its technology platform. The TOOTRiS platform can be accessed online at www.tootris.com.  

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