Compassion & Consistency - The TBS Way
Every member of Youth Homes’ Therapeutic Behavioral Services (TBS) team has a story about what brought them here - a path shaped by curiosity, compassion, and an unwavering desire to help young people thrive.
For Traci, the journey began while working with youth at a spiritual organization during college. “Working with young people has always been there,” she reflects. “I just wasn’t sure how it would present itself.” William’s story took a different route. Inspired by a counselor character on Star Trek, he was fascinated by the idea that someone could help others simply through conversation. “It felt like a superpower,” he says. From being a conflict manager in middle school to supporting kids in drug rehab programs, William knew he wanted to give youth the guidance he once needed himself.
For Stephanie, the calling came through teaching. She started out at the YMCA, where her love of working with kids blossomed, and she soon found herself pulled toward psychology. “I wanted to figure out how to combine the two,” she explains. Alicia’s path was grounded in both passion and education: she volunteered at the Crisis Nursery, studied sociology and counseling psychology, and worked with at-risk youth before stepping into her first TBS role at Youth Homes while still in grad school. Today, she leads the TBS team as Clinical Director.
The team’s roles are as varied as their stories. William is often the first to hear about behavioral shifts and helps families navigate challenges in both English and Spanish. “Being at ground level, you’re with the youth the most,” he shares. “You build the strongest relationship with them.” Stephanie facilitates Child and Family Team meetings, bringing parents, providers, and youth together to talk about hopes and goals. “Keeping everyone calm in those meetings is so important,” she says - “And she’s really good at it,” Alicia adds. And while Alicia oversees treatment plans and supervision, she emphasizes that what makes TBS powerful is the extra time they spend with clients and families - time that leads to sustainable, lasting change.
Sticking with this work for the long haul isn’t easy, but the TBS team has built something special: a culture of trust and support that keeps them going. Traci admits that pandemic times were challenging in this field. “I wouldn’t have been able to keep seeing kids if it wasn’t for the support of my team,” she says. William agrees, adding that unlike in past jobs, “you never really feel like you're alone here.” With ten, twelve, even twenty years of service among them, the team points to one another as the reason they’ve stayed - each person balancing personal goals, growth, and self-care while showing up fully for the mission of Youth Homes.
“At the end of the day, I can sleep soundly at night knowing I did my best work.”
The challenges facing youth and families today are bigger than ever - long waitlists to receive services, social media pressures for youth, the aftershocks of COVID-19. But the TBS team sees solutions in community, early intervention, and giving parents the tools they need to support their kids. Despite the stressors, they carry on with a sense of purpose. “At the end of the day, I can sleep soundly at night knowing I did my best work,” William says. And that’s what makes the Youth Homes team extraordinary: their belief that even in the hardest circumstances, showing up with compassion and consistency can change the course of a young person’s life.