LOWER LAKE, Calif. – It was not the best way for Jolene Chappel to develop an understanding of the panic of being a teenager suddenly left to fend for one’s self by abandoning parents.
But, because Chappel, herself, while in high school in Clearlake was left on her own and rendered homeless, she is wise beyond her 23 years on the issues facing these young people.
“When I was 15 my family moved away,” explained Chappel, the youth resource director of The Harbor on Main, a storefront service for youth on Lower Lake’s Main Street.
She said her sister took her family to Chico and her mother – who would later return to Lake County – also left the area at that time, leaving Chappel behind.
“I had other family in the area, but I had to really figure things out,” she said. “I was living with different friends. I would go home to a friend’s home, but I never had a stable feeling like, ‘This is my home.’ It was more like, ‘This is my home and this is my home and this is where I’m sleeping tonight.’”
So, to the process of providing her aged 14-to-24 clients guidance and steering them toward hope and a more secure existence, Chappel brings a graduation from the school of hard knocks, as well as the degree in psychology she was awarded 14 months ago at Sonoma State.
“My motivation to do this job was growing up in Lake County with very little support,” said Chappel, who is a little more than a year into her position. “I wanted to be adult support for other young people who are in the situation I was in and I understand what it takes to do this.”
The staff at The Harbor on Main consists of one other full-time specialist and one part-time.
As the other full-timer, Danielle Casey, serves as youth development specialist, assisting mainly with helping clients develop resumes and continuing education up to and including earning a GED certificate at Yuba College and the Konocti Unified School District.
On a part-time basis, Nura Brown serves as peer support specialist assists clients with “whatever they’re going through and whenever they need somebody to talk to,” Chappel explained. “She also goes out to local community colleges, the high schools and adult education classes and performs outreach.”
It is a small staff for a significant caseload.
Chappel estimates that 200 clients were served in the first year at the center – one third from foster homes.
Another third comes from referrals by parents, teachers, and agencies such as Lake County Behavioral Health, Social Services, Child Welfare Services and Probation. The final third are walk-ins who learn about the program mostly from their peers.
All of the youth served by The Harbor on Main are economically challenged.
The Harbor on Main is a relatively new program, at least in name.
According to Chappel, the program was launched in 2008 with funding from the Mental Health Services Act, Proposition 63, and was headquartered at the old firehouse. It’s a program of Redwood Children’s Services.
“We completely revamped the program last April and changed the name from Lake Center for Support to the present name,” she said. “Before then, they really didn’t have a lot of stuff going on in this program.”
Essentially, the services that come under the program’s umbrella include:
- Peer support and counseling with young people, such as Chappel, who have had similar experiences;
- Individual case management, including aid in finding low-income housing;
- Goal setting;
- Behavior modification;
- Continuing education leading to a GED;
- Employment, job and military, which consists of walking clients through the application process and developing references; and
- Planned parenthood.
“What I hear a lot from the clients who come in is ‘job,’” said Chappel. “Our program consists of (answers to) ‘Where do I go? What do I wear to work?’ and mock interviews. Then we actually go out and canvass the community and talk to business owners to make them aware of the importance of hiring young people.
“We will try to get our clients into apprenticeship,” she added regarding a newly launched program. “But we just finished our outreach plan, so we really don’t have results yet.”
A grant from United Way’s Youth Advancement program provides the youth $40 a month for attending 12-week learning sessions.
Clients who complete The Harbor on Main’s six-week program receive a $25 savings account from a supportive credit union.
Another piece of the program, maternity, also was recently adopted.
“We see a lot of young parents and we received a grant for a maternity group home here in the county called ‘The Nest.’ It opened a couple of weeks ago,” Chappel said. “We had our first pregnant couple move in and they will be going through a (15-month) process where we help them find a job and get their GEDs.”
Every service provided at The Harbor on Main is being tracked by quarterly reports, but with the program being new, there is relatively little quantitative data.
Many, if not most clients, Chappel asserted, “are really confused about what path to take. They’ll say, ‘If I commit (to a job or the military), does that mean I’m committed for the rest of my life?’ and ‘How am I going to pay for this?’
“We work through those things and then plan it out step by step, which changes their thinking from ‘I have to do a million things,’ to ‘Oh, I can do this part today.’ We just try to keep them on track,” she said. “If a youth comes in and is not ready to look for a job . . . I say ‘Well, what are you ready to do?’”
After describing the plethora of The Harbor on Main services, Chappel led the reporter in a walk-through of the facility, which includes computers for Internet training, a library, a conference room, a closetful of interview and everyday clothes, Planned Parenthood aids, hygiene products, video games and Friday night movies.
“So we have to be a combination of take care of yourself but also help us ... the whole nine yards,” Chappel said proudly of a place that fits her calling.
“I always wanted to help people,” she said.
Chappel said The Harbor on Main is seeking members to sit on its youth board, ages 15 to 24, which makes decisions about the center’s policies, and what activities and services they provide.
For more information about the center and its services contact The Harbor on Main, 16170 Main St., Suite F, Lower Lake, CA 95457, telephone 707-994-5486.
Email John Lindblom at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .