Waterbury Youth Services Ministry

Waterbury Youth Services System is dedicated to improving the lives of children and youth in the Greater Waterbury region. WYSS provides hope and opportunity through programs and services that support families and help children reach their full potential and become productive citizens. It is a private, non-profit organization with over twenty-eight years of service to children, youth and families in Greater Waterbury. This is a grassroots organization that serves 2500 to 3000 children and families annually.

Sacred Heart Church is presently assisting the youth of WYSS in several specific ways:

Adopt A Room at Rainbow House - A number of our high school/college students visit this safe home in Waterbury on a regular basis. There are many ways for people to get involved through mentoring, tutoring, visiting and establishing relationships with the children by "adopting" a room in the house where a family or group of families can help decorate and provide improvements for the house to help make it more of a home.

Foster Care Respite - Sacred Heart families are needed to assist foster care parents during times of stress or sickness. Families are trained to become a “Host Home” for foster care children when their adult providers are in need of some time-off. The period of this respite type care is only a few days long with any particular foster child.

State Paid Summer Jobs - Underprivileged teens in the Waterbury area receive state grant money as an incentive to employers to help them hire these teens for the summer. This is a great way to employ a teen, help them learn job skills and have the state pay their salary. We have a number of Sacred Heart parishioners who are employers and who could benefit from this program while helping a teen prepare for his/her future.

Mentoring & Tutoring Programs - There are a number of mentoring and tutoring opportunities in this after school program in downtown Waterbury. Adults and teens can use their time and talents to assist youths in many different ways or to simply be available to be a friend.

Summer Camp Sponsorship - For about $250 an underprivileged child can attend the Kiwanis Summer Camp for two weeks. It is a great opportunity to help make summer special for a child who would otherwise have nothing to do. This can really make a difference in the life of a child. Many of the children who attend this camp year after year go on to become camp counselors.

Contact Information For This Ministry

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