ECS Attends SBCS Ribbon Cutting

ECS staff attends the ribbon cutting for SBCS San Diego’s Center for Impact. November 2025.

Last month, our Family Engagement Team, Home Visitors, and Family Service Technicians joined South Bay Community Services (SBCS San Diego) for the ribbon-cutting of their new Center for Impact in Chula Vista!

We were honored to celebrate this exciting milestone, tour the beautiful new space, and connect with the incredible SBCS staff in person. ECS is proud to partner with organizations that share our commitment to supporting families and strengthening communities.

Congratulations to SBCS on this inspiring new chapter!

Leading the Way Awards

SAN DIEGO – ECS was recognized by Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan at its 3rd annual “Leading the Way” Awards dinner in San Diego. Over 30 individuals and organizations were recognized and awarded for their contributions to a healthier San Diego. 

The awardees’ work spanned across a range of key focus areas for health, including health equity, health access, and high-quality care.  

ECS received an award for Leading the Way for Equitable Health Access. Through behavioral health programs such as Para Las Familias (PLF) and Central East Regional Recovery Center (CERRC), as well as wholistic health-minded services offered through other ECS programs. 

The “Leading the Way” Awards celebrate community efforts to promote and expand health equity and inspire change. Together, San Diego steps closer toward a brighter and healthier future. 

Thank you to Blue Shield Promise for this honor, and congratulations to the other awardees. Together, we are lighting the path forward and strengthening the community. 

(From left to right) Tim Whipple, Development Director; La Monica Everett-Haynes, Board of Directors President; Geri Bannister, Assoc. Director of Behavioral Health; Kevin Lare, Annual Giving Manager; Hazzy Pipo, VP of Administration.November 2025.

ECS and fellow awardees accept their awards from Blue Shield Promise. November 2025.

Celebrating Recovery

SAN DIEGO – ECS' clients are the heart of everything ECS does. Every staff member’s focus, each service offered, and every penny raised goes back to breaking barriers and uplifting neighbors in need. Last Thursday, ECS celebrated its clients with its annual Thanksgiving Recovery Lunch. 

Volunteers serve a Thanksgiving meal. November 2025.

The lunch was hosted at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. Volunteers from St. Mark’s, Enterprise Bank, Navy Federal Credit Union, Ciprus Consulting, Christ Church Day School, and individual sign-ups made the day possible, helping to prepare the church, providing appetizers and desserts, and greeting and serving the guests. The students from Christ Church Day School even created a gratitude art project for guests to participate. 

The Recovery Lunch celebrates community. November 2025.

Guests included clients from Central East Regional Recovery Center (CERRC), C-HRT Safe Haven, and Uptown Safe Haven. Some clients also brought family members to join in the celebration.

Renee, a CERRC client, attended the recovery lunch for the first time. “I’m just excited to be here and have new beginnings and second chances to be able to start a new future,” she said. “They [ECS staff] really genuinely care about us and want us to succeed.” Renee is 82 days clean as of the time of the recovery lunch. 

Guests add what they are thankful for to the gratitude art project. November 2025.

Everyone in attendance – from the guests and volunteers to ECS staff and leadership – enjoyed a full Thanksgiving meal together and commemorated the recovery journeys of so many in the room with a chip ceremony. 

Recovery chips were given anyone in the room who had achieved any amount of recovery. Whether someone was celebrating years of sobriety or weeks, the room cheered on their admirable accomplishment. 

Clients, volunteers, staff, and leadership enjoy a Thanksgiving-style feast together. November 2025.

The community aspect of the lunch is what makes the event so special. Sarah, a C-HRT resident shared her view on creating community. “It’s important to show up and contribute and be there to support the community,” she said. Sarah is passionate about helping others and is excited to be an ECS volunteer in the future as a way to give back.   

A huge thank you to St. Mark’s and Fr. Richard for hosting the lunch once again. ECS Recovery Lunch is always a day of celebration, community, and gratitude. It serves as a reminder of the impact ECS’ programs make in the lives of so many and the strength of its clients.   

ECS cannot make this change without support. To help ECS continue to impact the San Diego region and bring real transformation to thousands of individuals and families visit our donate page here: www.ecscalifornia.org/donate.  

Teaming Up With PLF

PLF brought Micheal, Gabriela, Olivia, and Elizabeth closer as a family. September 2025.

A family is a team, working together like a well-oiled machine to face challenges as a unit. A team can choose to give up when obstacles pop up, or they can choose to rally behind each other and try to fix the situation. That is exactly what Gabriela and Micheal did.

Gabriela and Micheal have two daughters, Olivia, 8, and Elizabeth, 6. They recently completed sixth months of family therapy with Olivia at ECS Para Las Familias (PLF).

Before PLF, Olivia exhibited behavioral issues that left her parents very concerned. She experienced severe breakdowns, occurring multiple nights in a row on many occasions. “We couldn't really get her under control,” Micheal said. “She was hating herself and saying things bad about herself.” Her parents recalled instances where she would go so far as to kick the walls or doors or even hit herself. It was a constant struggle.

But the hurt felt by the situation went beyond just Olivia. “Elizabeth would break down and cry a lot of times when [Olivia] was throwing her tantrums,” Micheal said.

Gabriela and Micheal strived for balanced teamwork through the breakdowns and their relationship remained steady, but they were under immense stress. “I found ourselves constantly on edge, because we had just finished having to deal with the tantrums, and the outbursts, and then any little thing was bothering us, because we were already exhausted,” Gabriela explained.

Despite their efforts, nothing worked. “I think we felt pretty desperate to find a solution, some help, someone that can explain why she's going through this,” Gabriela said.

Thankfully, family friends Jessica and George told Gabriela and Micheal about PLF. “Their daughter [Leilani] and Olivia have similar traits and when they said that they learned techniques and that they see a difference – and we saw a difference – I was like, ‘Get me in, get me in,’” Gabriela said.

The family approached PLF as a team. Gabriela and Micheal knew it was crucial that they both attended with Olivia. They were nervous, but to their excitement, they began to see a change in their daughter.

The key to overcoming this challenge though, didn’t lie just with Olivia: it was a family affair. Gabriela and Micheal attended PLF’s parenting class in conjunction with the therapy. With the help of PLF therapist Andrea, they learned a variety of tools they could implement in their parenting to better support and guide their children. “We wanted her to know that we were there when she was upset,” Gabriela said. “We'll let her know... ‘I'm gonna be right here.’”

Family therapy sessions and parenting classes helped Olivia and her parents build understanding and communicate effectively. September 2025.

As they continued therapy with PLF therapist Joana, Olivia displayed clear growth. She learned new ways to cope with big emotions and became more social. Her parents even observed her using games and lessons from PLF to share her newfound wisdom with her little sister.

Gabriela and Micheal shared that they feel the lessons the entire family learned from PLF will stick with them for life and would be beneficial to any family. “I think anybody that has kids for the first time should take the parenting class,” Micheal said. “I think it's very helpful, even if you don't have a kid that's having breakdowns, because some of the stuff they teach you is good for babies... I think some of those techniques would have been nice to implement a lot younger.”

PLF gave Gabriela, Micheal, and their daughters many tools and techniques to work better as a team, all at no cost to the family. “I thought the therapy was really expensive,” she said. “Everybody makes it seem like it's a very privileged thing to go to. When families are struggling it's really good that [ECS is] able to offer stuff like that.” No family should be without help due to their financial situation. Providing free therapy, parenting classes, and childcare all at PLF makes help accessible to any family.

A weight is lifted off the whole family. “It's not gonna be perfect, and I didn't expect not to have any problems or issues, but it is like night and day... sometimes I just go, ‘Wow, she's so mature now,’” Gabriela said. “Every single day, we look forward to the next day, because it was like a new beginning.”

To learn more about Para Las Familias visit www.ecscalifornia.org/para-las-familias.