Lourdes Gonzalez

UCAN builds strong youth and families through compassionate healing, education, and empowerment. Since the Civil War, UCAN has served the most vulnerable children, youth, and families, and has grown over 145 years into a premier social service agency serving over 10,000 individuals annually. UCAN programs address the impact of trauma: with a consistent presence, meaningful programs, and unrivaled organizational diversity and cultural competence. These trauma-informed programs include clinical and counseling services, support for pregnant or parenting teens, foster care placement, a therapeutic youth home, a therapeutic day school, transitional living programs, workforce development, youth leadership development, and violence prevention. At the heart of it all, UCAN’s vision is that youth who have suffered trauma can become our future leaders. UCAN is a consistent and compassionate presence in the lives of those who are most at risk. We start with the premise that communities with challenges possess strengths upon which they can build. From this premise evolves an approach to community support that fosters collaboration with existing neighborhood resources to strengthen communities, one youth at a time. UCAN’s community efforts provide leadership development, supportive jobs for youth, individual healing, and mentoring. UCAN's founding is rooted in spirituality. In 1869, UCAN was founded by members of St. Pauls United Church of Christ (UCC) to provide a home for orphaned children of Civil War soldiers. The UCC and its predecessors have long advocated for social justice, including the struggle for the abolition of slavery and being the first to ordain African-Americans, women, and openly gay persons as clergy. Diversity is a core UCAN value, reflected in our staff, our minority-led Board of Directors, and our clients. It is vitally important that UCAN counteract the influence of discrimination on our communities, families and youth.