Pacific Clinics recently held its annual fundraiser, the Hearts & Hands Luncheon, where more than 250 attendees came together at our Campbell headquarters and raised $509,000 and counting for Bay Area children, families and adults.
Following a warm welcome from Bay Area Regional Executive Director Don Taylor, attendees learned about Hope Drop-In Center client Ty, who identifies as nonbinary and came to Pacific Clinics seeking community and support. Their mother had just passed away, and their father wasn’t fully accepting of Ty not wanting to keep their birth name. Despite these challenges, Ty petitioned for a legal name change and recently received their new birth certificate.
“It was extremely validating to me,” says Ty. “In the little family we have here, we’ve always been very supportive of one another. When I did get my birth certificate, they called it my birthday. I don’t get that support at home.”
Attendees also learned more about our Neurodevelopmental Services, previously known as our Specialty Applied Behavior Analysis program, which supports neurodiverse individuals diagnosed with autism, ADHD, OCD, sensory processing difficulties and more.
“In the beginning, we were really focused on testing for autism, and what we noticed is that not everyone had autism — they had all these other needs,” said Melissa Newman, senior clinical director at Pacific Clinics. “Up to 20% of our entire population is neurodiverse. So, when you have a high number like that, you have to ask, what are we doing about that?”
Funds raised at this event will also support our Crisis Stabilization services, Foster Care & Adoption Services, Celebrating Families, which helps adults struggling with addiction, and our “Whatever It Takes” fund, which helps families with emergency items such as food, blankets, clothing, diapers, and supplies for hygiene and school.
During the event, attendees also celebrated the impact of three very special honorees:
- Pacific Clinics’ Manager of Addiction Prevention Services Toni Welch Torres received the Community Hearts & Hands award for her 33 years of dedicated service to our Addiction Prevention Services, where she has led the program’s school-based services.
- UJIMA Adult & Family Services received the Community Civic Leader award for partnering with Pacific Clinics to provide an important bridge and cultural foundation for African youth and families. In addition, UJIMA CEO Yvonne Maxwell was essential in developing the service framework, which would become TRUST Field Response Program, a program that Pacific Clinics now provides alongside county and community partners.
- Dontae Lartigue received the Community Hero award for his critical work advocating for youth in the foster care system. As someone who once experienced the foster care system and received services from Pacific Clinics, he has gone on to found Razing The Bar, a nonprofit that provides mentorship and housing supportive services to current and former foster youth.
A special thanks to title sponsor SWENSON, as well as our wonderful emcee, NBC Bay Area traffic anchor Mike Inouye, and, as always, Pacific Clinics’ generous sponsors, donors and guests.
