Updates from Looking Glass
The Looking Glass Counseling Program is here to support you! All of our therapists have transitioned to working with clients via telehealth with limited in-person services. The last year has been filled with many uncertainties, which can cause high levels of stress, trauma, anxiety, and depression. If you are looking to inquire about our counseling services, please call our office at (541) 484-4428. If you are looking for Spanish-speaking services, please call (541) 246-2256.
Looking Glass’ Riverfront School GED program offers a flexible, individualized and self-paced opportunity for young adults in Lane County to earn their General Educational Diploma (GED). Although school looks different due to COVID-19, the GED Program is excited to offer these classes and one-on-one learning opportunities to any 18-24-year-old in the area who wants to enroll. Students can join the program at any time due to its flexible timeline.
The Looking Glass Riverfront School Health Professions Program, funded by the Oregon Youth Development Council as a multiyear grant, offers a unique opportunity for Lane County youth who have interest in learning about basic healthcare systems while earning college credit (for no cost!). Despite the challenges Covid-19 presents, the health classes offered from this program are available to Riverfront students as well as any 18 to 24 year-old in the area who wants to enroll. Courses will begin when Riverfront’s comprehensive distance learning school resumes on September 8th.
For many families in our community, there is a need for help and care when a child is experiencing a mental or behavior health crisis. To support those families, Looking Glass, The Child Center, and Jasper Mountain came together to create the Crisis Response Team. Unfortunately, in-person services had to be temporarily suspended in April due to concerns around COVID-19. We are happy to announce, however, that with careful planning, we were able to resume in-person services on July 6th.
In the midst of this unprecedented crisis, it can be hard to imagine what education will look like in the future. Many schools are currently utilizing technology to continue teaching students. We spoke with Cheryl Zwillinger, Director of Riverfront School and Career Center, to learn about how she and her team are addressing these challenges.
For New Roads runaway and homeless youth program outreach workers, challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic have been wide reaching but the team perseveres working hard to find at-risk youth and engage them about New Roads resources. On Friday, May 15th we joined two members of the outreach team on an outing and asked them questions about their process as well as how the pandemic has changed their approach in the field.
At Looking Glass, we work to provide a variety of educational opportunities for teens that are homeless, have mental health issues, and for whom traditional education is inadequate to meet their needs. We have 3 alternative schools, therapists in 32 schools throughout Lane County, and offer educational services at each of our residential programs.
